US PEPFAR renewed for AIDS, TB and malaria

US President George W Bush has signed a major new piece of legislation on global AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, but Congress is not providing the money to implement it for fiscal year 2009, according to the Global AIDS Alliance. Paul Zeitz, the group's executive director, said that, while the formal approval is "deeply appreciated," he warned that, "in terms of funding, it appears to be more rhetoric than reality. Congress should make sure the program is fully funded on day one, since without the money we cannot save more lives."

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has received praise for its success in getting antiretroviral drugs to people in less-developed countries (Marketletters passim). Critics oppose the insistence that some funds are allocated to abstinence-based HIV/AIDS preventative education and the use of branded drugs, although more generic products have been used recently.

The bill authorized $48.0 billion for global health programs. Pres Bush's original proposal, for $30.0 billion, would have kept funding at the current level. Democrat Representatives and Senators, who control a majority in both Houses of Congress, have approved far lower spending levels than requested by the Republican administration. Previously, it had been a group of Republican Senators who had tried to stop spending on the PEPFAR program reaching $10.0 billion a year, including expansion of its remit to include malaria and tuberculosis.