Crossing the aisle to end childhood AIDS

What can be accomplished when people work together is truly remarkable. This holds true in so many endeavors, but it is especially true in politics. 

And nowhere is this more apparent than in the transformative impact of the United States’s commitments and leadership in the global efforts to end AIDS.

{mosads}Today, the United States is working on an unprecedented scale to fight the global AIDS pandemic. These efforts began in earnest in 2003, with the creation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). 

PEPFAR was launched with strong bipartisan support at a time when the AIDS epidemic was raging across the world, engulfing entire countries in sickness and death. 

The situation seemed so desperate, the future so bleak, and yet we as Americans did what we do best: We joined together vowing to overcome a seemingly insurmountable challenge.

Only 12 years later, U.S.-funded AIDS efforts have not only provided millions of people with life-saving HIV prevention and treatment services, they have forever altered the landscape of the global AIDS pandemic.

To understand the extent of the impact of these efforts on the most vulnerable, the world’s children, consider this: Since 2001 the number of children born HIV-positive has been more than cut in half.

Such progress is a direct result of political leadership from both sides of the aisle and the scaling up of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services in countries hardest hit by the pandemic.

In 2005 only 14 percent of pregnant women in need received PMTCT services, while today that figure has climbed to 67 percent. This dramatic increase in access to quality PMTCT and related treatment services has given mothers the opportunity to fight for an HIV-free future for their children. And it is a fight that can be won.

In light of this remarkable progress during the past decade, it is tempting to say that the hardest days of this epidemic are behind us. But for the nearly 700 children who are born HIV-positive each day, every day brings a new struggle between health and sickness, life and death. 

Couple this with the fact that only one quarter of the 3.2 million children living with HIV actually receive the medicines they need to stay alive and healthy. Without treatment, half of these children will die by their second birthday and 80 percent by their fifth.

It’s clear that our work is far from over. Continued bipartisan leadership will be essential to further scale-up treatment for children to keep them living well beyond five years. Equally important is that mothers have access to the care they need to ensure their children are born HIV-free and that they remain healthy themselves.

Eliminating new HIV infections in children and treating those who are infected is at the heart of global efforts to bring about the end of AIDS. By focusing on keeping children living with HIV healthy and on treatment today, and ensuring the children of tomorrow are born HIV-free, we are laying the foundation for the world’s first AIDS-free generation.

The leadership of the United States is now more essential than ever. Eliminating pediatric HIV has long been a cornerstone of our global AIDS response, and we must continue to champion its importance.

Unfold any chapter of recent history and you would be hard pressed to find a finer expression of the American spirit than our efforts as a nation to stop an epidemic that was once feared unstoppable.

Now as we approach our goal of an AIDS-free generation, our resolve must be stronger than ever. By continuing to reach across the aisle, we can continue to reach across continents, cultures and generations to lead the world to the end of AIDS.

Ros-Lehtinen has represented Florida’s 27th Congressional District since 1990. She sits on the Intelligence and the Foreign Affairs committees, and chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. Lee represents California’s 13th Congressional District and has served in the House since 1998. She sits on the Appropriations and the Budget committees. Ros-Lehtinen and Lee are co-chairwomen of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus.