Coalition Statement

February 26, 2003

Dear President Bush,

As a group of leading organizations dedicated to reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS and improving women's health worldwide, we are heartened by the proposal outlined in your State of the Union address to dramatically increase U.S. funding in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. However, we are deeply disturbed to learn that the Administration is contemplating an expansion of the so-called Mexico City policy to cover some or all international HIV/AIDS funds, thereby disqualifying from U.S. funding many organizations positioned to be key partners in carrying out your "Emergency AIDS initiative. " Any such restrictions can only impede progress in the battle against HIV/AIDS and erode the good will generated by the Administration's renewed commitment to funding HIV/AIDS programs.

It is our understanding that organizations using an integrated public health approach to prevent the spread of HIV and to treat and provide care for people living with AIDS will be disqualified under the expanded policy. This is indefensible. Governments and leading donor institutions throughout the world strongly support integrated family planning and HIV prevention programs as the best approach to improving public health. The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Sector Strategy for HIV/AIDS underscores that existing family planning programs "provide a clear entry point for the delivery of HIV/AIDS interventions." USAID, the World Bank, the European Union and other leading donors in every region encourage integration as a matter of good public health practice and economic efficiency.

For women, access to integrated programs and services can make the difference between life and death. Women now represent half of those infected with HIV worldwide and 58 percent of those in Sub-Saharan Africa where the AIDS epidemic has taken the greatest toll to date. Integrated services offer women confidential outlets for voluntary counseling and testing, referrals for or direct provision of prevention of maternal-to-child transmission (MTCT), and treatment of other diseases. In addition, these services provide accurate information on sensitive issues, such as whether and how HIV-positive mothers can safely breastfeed their newborns; confidential access to MTCT; and a source of information and resources free from the stigma frequently associated with stand-alone HIV prevention programs. Such services are pivotal to preventing new infections and to improving the survival rates of those infected, while addressing other urgent public health priorities.

We represent a broad spectrum of organizations with a range of specific interests and points of view, but stand unified in our resolve to expedite U.S. assistance to those most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. At this critical time it is urgent to eliminate barriers to effective programs not erect new ones. We therefore oppose any expansion of the "Mexico City" policy and urge the Administration in the strongest possible terms to abandon its plan to expand these restrictions in any form.

Press Room

Coalition Statements