About PEPFAR Reauthorization In the past five years, the US has dramatically increased our commitment to fighting global AIDS. In 2003, President Bush proposed a bold new $15 billion over five year initiative to fight AIDS in 15 focus countries. That program is known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and Congress has appropriated $19 billion over those five years to prevent HIV infection, treat people with AIDS, and provide care to orphans and vulnerable children. Much work remains. 33 million people are living with HIV worldwide. 12 million need access, but only 3 million have it. Millions become infected with HIV each year, and half are young people. Now is not the time to scale back US efforts to fight AIDS. When Congress reauthorizes the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) this year, we need to make sure that every member is informed about what is needed to fight AIDS worldwide: Provide free HIV and Opportunistic Infection medication for 1/3 of people in clinical need of treatment, estimated to be 4 million at the end of 2013, Comprehensive, country-driven HIV prevention, disproven ideology, Care for orphans and vulnerable children, Train and retain enough health workers to provide care (140,000 new health workers would achieve the WHO goal of a minimum     of 2.3 health workers per 1,000 people),  Treat and prevent tuberculosis and malaria, Fund microbicide development, promote rights of women and children through economic empowerment, legal protection, and microbicides research,    , and Ensure that people have access to food and clean water to stay healthy. This will cost $59 billion over 5 years. Sadly, President Bush has proposed to flat-fund PEPFAR. It’s going to take all of us, working together, to make sure that Congress passes the best possible piece of legislation to save the most number of lives.