In my many years as an advocate and humanitarian, I have had the privilege of a front-row seat to witnessing the church answer the call to love your neighbor as yourself in big and unexpected ways.
One moment from January 2003 stands out, and it has shaped my career in ways I could not have predicted at the time. I was a young staffer working for a Republican member of Congress. I had the privilege of listening to President George W. Bush introduce the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief during his State of the Union Address.
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard of it; I was among those who had a glimpse of the coordination between faith leaders, healthcare experts, government officials, and community members, who came together to extend lifesaving resources to those suffering and dying from HIV and AIDS. The church played a key role in petitioning lawmakers to dedicate resources to prevent a disease that has been proven eminently treatable.
Soon after, I witnessed the church step up again, but without the spotlight or fanfare. After leaving my life of relative ease in Washington, D.C., I traded policy for practice and spent an incredibly formative season as a member of the World Relief team in Rwanda and then as an office director. Here, the resources enabled by PEPFAR were just beginning to be implemented. Much of our work was equipping churches to provide palliative care to people in the final stages of the disease.
I will never forget my time among those so deeply affected by the devastation of the disease. Once you’ve walked in the valley of the shadow of death, you don’t soon forget it. The church was on the front line of implementing PEPFAR, providing care through World Relief’s “Mobilizing for Life” initiative, and going into places of darkness. The relief that antiretroviral drugs provided was nothing short of a miracle, and PEPFAR reversed what was effectively a death sentence for a generation.
Since implementation began, PEPFAR has been one of the single most effective pieces of legislation, saving over 26 million lives through lifesaving treatment, prevention, and education. It has kept families together, prevented children from becoming orphans, and restored dignity to those battling the disease. And its ROI is similarly impressive; for every $1 spent, it has produced $6.44 in economic benefits. In an economy of loaves and fishes, the sum invested in PEPFAR is little more than a dinner roll on the vast banquet table of the U.S. budget — a mere 0.1% — but the impact has far and away exceeded the investment.
For all its success, though, PEPFAR’s future is not certain. Last year, $400 million of PEPFAR was bundled into the rescission legislation destined for the chopping block. That $400 million was earmarked for HIV and AIDS treatment and prevention, and while U.S. budget dollars don’t always equate to lives on the line, these did.
Fortunately, the church noticed, and it alerted lawmakers, and the funding was preserved. We’re grateful for the way members of Congress responded to their constituents. And we’re grateful that, in the intervening months, the administration has taken further measures to ensure that the way the treatments are administered honors the laws of the countries being served and the anti-abortion spirit with which the laws were designed. One notable measure requires each healthcare worker administering PEPFAR programs to attest their understanding and commitment that U.S. government funds cannot be used for abortion-related services or advocacy, ensuring compliance with long-standing U.S. law.
HEALTHCARE ISN’T BROKEN. HEALTH INSURANCE IS.
Now 23 years old, PEPFAR continues to fulfill its mission, and by continuing and expanding its scope, this administration could earn the badge of eradicating HIV and AIDS by 2030. Even now, I urge the administration and Congress to commit obligated funds to eliminating the disease. It’s a miracle within our grasp.
Myal Greene is the president and CEO of World Relief.
