In his State of the Union address this week, United States President Joe Biden’s comments on the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, were short and sweet — “it’s been a huge success.” But to one analyst, that line spoke volumes.
“State of the Unions are precious real estate. And the fact that PEPFAR got some of that real estate is pretty notable, and I think sends a signal that this program is important to the administration … but also signaling that this is truly a bipartisan legacy that carries on,” Jennifer Kates, senior vice president and director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, tells Jenny.
PEPFAR — the flagship U.S. global health program dedicated to addressing the HIV epidemic, created two decades ago by former President George W. Bush — is now up for reauthorization, and, many hope, a budget increase after years of flat funding.
About the authors
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
Amruta Byatnalamrutabyatnal
Amruta Byatnal is a Senior Editor at Devex where she edits coverage on global development, humanitarian crises and international aid. She writes Devex CheckUp, a weekly newsletter on the latest developments in global health. Previously, she worked for News Deeply in the United States, and The Hindu in India. She is a graduate of Cornell University where she studied international development. She is currently based in New Delhi.
