When former U.S. President George W. Bush made his State of the Union address in 2003, it came with a bang — the creation of a global program to address the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
Two decades later, on its 20th anniversary, advocates of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, were hoping U.S. President Joe Biden would announce something big too, such as a commitment to reauthorize the program and increase its funding. That didn’t go exactly as they hoped — Biden’s PEPFAR tribute was down to five words, “it’s been a huge success” was all he said — but some analysts say it speaks 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, told Devex.