U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Deborah Birx played down the potential impact of the reinstated “global gag rule” will have on PEPFAR programs. While the exact implications remain unclear, she told Devex that the agency’s focus on data has it well positioned to track and plan for whatever budget it gets.
The global gag rule prevents all non-U.S. nongovernmental organizations that provide services or information relating to abortion from receiving U.S. funds. When a previous version of the policy was in place, former President George W. Bush exempted PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which he founded. That is not the case this time around.
“PEPFAR is [in] a very different place than we were when it was exempted, because we have very mature partners,” she said. PEPFAR works with a large number of partners from small local organizations, to international NGOs in the implementation of its programs.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
