March 23, 2018
Contact: Jessica Bassett, 518-593-7628, [email protected]

Jamila Headley, Managing Director of the Health Global Access Project (Health GAP) issued the following statement:

“Last year, President Trump unveiled his global AIDS strategy in the form of a plan to slash $1 billion from the HIV treatment, prevention and care that makes it possible for millions of people around the world to live healthier, happier lives. Thanks to sustained grassroots pressure, last night Congress flatly rejected the Trump plan and instead funded life-saving global AIDS programs at the same level as the previous year.

“The reality is, funding for the U.S. global HIV response has been stagnating for years, and it’s time for a reckoning. Though Congress took a step in the right direction by rejecting Trump’s cuts, 1 in 2 people living with HIV still don’t have access to life-saving treatment and while it’s possible to end AIDS as an epidemic by 2030, we won’t get there without $850 million in additional PEPFAR funding in the fiscal year 2019 budget - the minimum amount needed to put us on track.”

About Health GAP:

Health GAP is an international advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all people living with HIV have access to affordable life sustaining medicines. Our team pairs pragmatic policy work with audacious grassroots action to win equitable access to treatment, care and prevention for people living with and affected by HIV worldwide. We are dedicated to eliminating barriers to universal access to affordable life sustaining medicines for people living with HIV/AIDS as key to a comprehensive strategy to confront and ultimately stop the AIDS pandemic. We believe that the human right to life and to health must prevail over the pharmaceutical industry's excessive profits and expanding patent rights.

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