Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008

TOM LANTOS AND HENRY J. HYDE UNITED STATES GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AGAINST HIV/AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS, AND MALARIA REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - April 02, 2008)

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Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam Chairman, the amendment offered by Mr. Jackson of Illinois and myself would add three Southern African countries, Malawi, Swaziland, and Lesotho, to the lists of countries that will be a part of the focus countries in the reauthorization of this Global HIV/AIDS legislation.

In 2003, the original PEPFAR legislation designated 14 focus countries. These countries were prioritized for intensive investment of resources and technical expertise as provided through PEPFAR. The bill on the floor today adds focus countries by designating Vietnam and 14 Caribbean basic countries with PEPFAR focus status. Unfortunately, these three countries in Southern Africa, each confronting devastation as a result of HIV/AIDS, have not been granted priority status in PEPFAR. The crisis of HIV/AIDS confronting Malawi, Swaziland, and Lesotho is real and in some cases worse than the existing focus countries.

Malawi is a country of 13 million people, with 900,000 children orphaned by AIDS and nearly 1 million of its adults living with HIV, a 14 percent infection rate. Swaziland, with a population of only 1.1 million people, has over 200,000 adults living with HIV, one in three adults, or a 33 percent adult infection rate. Lesotho has a population of 2 million people, and an HIV infection rate among its adults of 23 percent.

These three countries are not only confronting HIV and AIDS, but they are also among the poorest countries on the planet, which makes their challenge so much greater. Malawi, for example, is 164th out of 177 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index. Also, each country is geographically surrounded by countries that were designated focus countries in the original PEPFAR legislation, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, which are presently receiving massive investments to confront their epidemics.

Malawi, Swaziland and Lesotho are working bilaterally with the United States; but by not being granted PEPFAR's focus country status, the gap that they face between the needs and available resources means that too many people will continue to be infected, too many people will continue to die needlessly, and too many orphans will be left to fend for themselves.

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