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Congresswoman Barbara Lee Co-Chairs International Relations Hearing on HIV/ AIDS
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), a leader in the fight to provide funding for HIV/AIDS, today presided as the Ranking Democratic Member over a House International Relations Committee hearing with the newly appointed Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias, to discuss the Administration’s recently-released 5 year-strategy plan for the coordination and expansion of the US Government’s Global AIDS initiative.
Joining Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL) in expressing disappointment over the 5-year strategy, Lee told Tobias that, among other things, the plan had a lack of specifics about how to treat women. Lee said that there was “no real direction behind efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination against women infected with HIV, nor is there much attention paid to the reality that the ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful, and use a Condom) prevention strategy, as currently laid out in this document, will be ineffective for many women at risk.”
On the issue of condom use, Lee told Tobias that “your strategy plan takes a very narrow and limited view as to when or where condom use will be promoted as part of an overall prevention strategy. Instead of advocating for the correct and consistent use of condoms as part of a comprehensive primary prevention strategy targeting the entire population, you seem to be saying that education on the proper use of condoms and subsequent distribution efforts will only be targeted to groups that are identified as engaging in ‘high-risk’ behavior.”
Contrasting this approach with our own domestic prevention programs, Lee called it “a significant step backwards in our efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.”
Regarding the Administration’s level of support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Lee complained that the “Administration seems to be looking for any excuse it can find to reduce our level of funding this year.” Speaking about the need to leverage funding from other sources Lee further stated that, “the administration cannot view a contribution of $200 million as a ceiling, because that will only serve to discourage contributions from other countries and donors.”
Finally, Lee mentioned her recent trip to India and raised the suggestion that a next wave plan was necessary to address the emerging epidemic there and in other countries, saying that “if we act now, we can make an impact in helping to prevent a possible explosion in the number of people who get infected.”
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Joining Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL) in expressing disappointment over the 5-year strategy, Lee told Tobias that, among other things, the plan had a lack of specifics about how to treat women. Lee said that there was “no real direction behind efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination against women infected with HIV, nor is there much attention paid to the reality that the ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful, and use a Condom) prevention strategy, as currently laid out in this document, will be ineffective for many women at risk.”
On the issue of condom use, Lee told Tobias that “your strategy plan takes a very narrow and limited view as to when or where condom use will be promoted as part of an overall prevention strategy. Instead of advocating for the correct and consistent use of condoms as part of a comprehensive primary prevention strategy targeting the entire population, you seem to be saying that education on the proper use of condoms and subsequent distribution efforts will only be targeted to groups that are identified as engaging in ‘high-risk’ behavior.”
Contrasting this approach with our own domestic prevention programs, Lee called it “a significant step backwards in our efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.”
Regarding the Administration’s level of support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Lee complained that the “Administration seems to be looking for any excuse it can find to reduce our level of funding this year.” Speaking about the need to leverage funding from other sources Lee further stated that, “the administration cannot view a contribution of $200 million as a ceiling, because that will only serve to discourage contributions from other countries and donors.”
Finally, Lee mentioned her recent trip to India and raised the suggestion that a next wave plan was necessary to address the emerging epidemic there and in other countries, saying that “if we act now, we can make an impact in helping to prevent a possible explosion in the number of people who get infected.”
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