WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today hailed House passage of legislation that would more than triple the resources available over five years to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world. The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 would increase the commitment of United States resources used to combat diseases that have devastated countries globally, and includes a number of provisions introduced by Senator Clinton.
Having passed both chambers of Congress, the bill will now be sent to the President for his signature.
“I applaud our increased investment to combat these devastating conditions on a global scale. By expanding the resources available to programs that prevent and treat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as increase the health care workforce, we can make gains in achieving the goal of halting and reversing the spread of HIV,” Senator Clinton said. “I urge President Bush to sign this into law as quickly as possible.”
The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act would require the President to establish a new five-year strategy to fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, as part of the overall United States health and development agenda; call for increased resources for efforts to combat these diseases; intensify prevention, treatment, and care efforts; enhance program effectiveness through expansion of operations research; address the particular vulnerabilities of girls and women; encourage public-private partnerships; reinforce vaccine development and other research; and help partner countries to strengthen health systems and improve capacity.
The bill includes several measures introduced by Senator Clinton. The legislation would require the government to develop a plan to improve program monitoring, evaluation and operations research in its global AIDS programming, as called for in the PEPFAR Accountability and Transparency Act which Senator Clinton introduced earlier this year. Under the requirement, the government would assess of the effectiveness of American-funded interventions so that effective efforts could be replicated. The bill also requires the annual publication of a “best practices” report to facilitate implementation of cost-effective interventions in low-resource settings.
Additionally, the bill contains provisions that mirror the Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth (PATHWAY) Act, which Senator Clinton introduced last year. The bill requires the inclusion of programs to address the needs of women and girls in the President’s five-year strategy to combat global AIDS, and will help target the specific vulnerability of women and girls to HIV in prevention, care, and treatment programs.
