“We live in deeply turbulent times with myriad global challenges, I know they all require your time and attention. Given that, I am infinitely grateful for the bipartisan cooperation that has been the hallmark of the President’s Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for two decades,” British artist Elton John told Wednesday. US legislators.
“While this effort was initially conceived by President [George W. Bush]has been enthusiastically endorsed by four presidents and 10 congresses, and has been consistently championed by the generosity of the American people,” he added.
John testified remotely before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, “PEPFAR at 20: Achieving and Maintaining Epidemic Control.”
The artist, who established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, said that before PEPFAR was authorized in 2003, “much of Africa was in free fall,” with more than a quarter of a million people dying of AIDS. every year.
“Thanks to PEPFAR, horror has finally given way to hope,” John said, acknowledging that the initiative has saved 25 million lives.
“And the PEPFAR platform has not only made HIV a chronic disease for tens of millions […] and it has made countries much better prepared for whatever viral nightmare comes next,” he said.
“But we’re not done yet,” he stressed. “We have the tools we need to turn the tide and more and more national leadership, capacity and ingenuity are taking what is good and making it better and more sustainable, but we must keep our foot on the gas.”
“By extending PEPFAR for another five years and fully funding it, together, we can continue the march toward ending AIDS for everyone everywhere and leave no one behind,” he said.
It is not the first time that Elton John has called on lawmakers on funding against HIV and AIDS. John testified in 2015 before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. In February, he joined Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Lindsey Graham (R-Ga.) on a visit to Johannesburg to discuss PEPFAR.
