Posted on Sep 30, 2023
What's behind the debate to re-authorize PEPFAR, the widely hailed anti-HIV effort?
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https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/09/29/ [login to see] /what-would-it-mean-if-pepfar-the-widely-hailed-anti-hiv-effort-isnt-reauthorized
Harry Hausler was speaking at an event a few months ago in Khayelitsha, a Cape Town township, where he ran into several people he knew but hadn't seen in years.
Hausler, a family physician, had first met them back around 2007, a period when people living with AIDS in South Africa could not count on getting access to life-saving treatment. These patients were "really emaciated" at that time, says Hausler. "Their immune systems were completely depleted."
When Hausler saw them 16 years later, they were in very different shape.
"They'd started antiretroviral treatment, rebounded, gained their strength and their weight back and subsequently had long and happy lives," he says. "Some of them have had children who have been born HIV-negative because the mothers were on antiretroviral treatment, so they didn't transmit the virus to their children. And some of those children are now graduating from university in South Africa!"
Harry Hausler was speaking at an event a few months ago in Khayelitsha, a Cape Town township, where he ran into several people he knew but hadn't seen in years.
Hausler, a family physician, had first met them back around 2007, a period when people living with AIDS in South Africa could not count on getting access to life-saving treatment. These patients were "really emaciated" at that time, says Hausler. "Their immune systems were completely depleted."
When Hausler saw them 16 years later, they were in very different shape.
"They'd started antiretroviral treatment, rebounded, gained their strength and their weight back and subsequently had long and happy lives," he says. "Some of them have had children who have been born HIV-negative because the mothers were on antiretroviral treatment, so they didn't transmit the virus to their children. And some of those children are now graduating from university in South Africa!"
What's behind the debate to re-authorize PEPFAR, the widely hailed anti-HIV effort?
Posted from npr.org
Medical
Health
Cape Town
George W. Bush
Congress
Posted 1 y ago
Responses: 3
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel your info about Hausler was so uplifting.
Then, the actually news story? Well, not so uplifting. Good to be informed though
Then, the actually news story? Well, not so uplifting. Good to be informed though
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Money. This program in Africa is funded by the US.
And yet Congress could let the program's authorization lapse on Oct. 1.
That wouldn't put PEPFAR out of business, as the program is permanently enshrined in the law. But it's the first sign of uncertainty in support for this bedrock program credited with saving some 25 million lives worldwide. And critics are making bold and controversial assertions. "Biden has hijacked PEPFAR to promote abortion," was the headline of a press release issued on Thursday by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.
And yet Congress could let the program's authorization lapse on Oct. 1.
That wouldn't put PEPFAR out of business, as the program is permanently enshrined in the law. But it's the first sign of uncertainty in support for this bedrock program credited with saving some 25 million lives worldwide. And critics are making bold and controversial assertions. "Biden has hijacked PEPFAR to promote abortion," was the headline of a press release issued on Thursday by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.
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