Subject:
Global Health Newsletter for March 6, 2024
From Name:
Igor Khrestin, George W. Bush Institute
From Email:
Ikhrestin@bushcenter.org
Reply Email:
hjohnson@bushcenter.org
Date and Time:
21/02/2024 12:00 am
The Bush Institute Global Health Newsletter
Hello,

Courageous women are delivering lifesaving care to those living with HIV across the globe. As we approach International Women’s Day on Friday, we should recognize and empower these women.

Women like Vanessa and Ebenecia, who have received cervical cancer screening services in a clinic supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), are now working in their communities with the Go Further partnership to raise awareness about the importance of HIV and cervical cancer screening, treatment, and prevention. My colleague Hannah Johnson met Vanessa and Ebenecia during a recent trip to Nambia. They were some of the many women she met who are working to save lives in their community, many of whom are beneficiaries of PEPFAR.

Vanessa and Ebenecia have made it their mission to share the importance of HIV testing and peer mentoring. When women tell Vanessa that they are HIV-positive, she even offers to join them at the clinic for their screening.

Women living with HIV are up to six times more likely to develop cervical cancer, and it’s one of the deadliest cancers for women in sub-Saharan Africa, making the work of Vanessa and Ebenecia all the more vital.

These are two of the many women who have inspired my colleagues and me as we continue to work with and meet the individuals making a lifesaving impact with the support of PEPFAR.

Kind regards,

Igor Khrestin
The Bradford M. Freeman Managing Director of Global Policy
George W. Bush Institute

Vanessa (left) and Ebenecia (right), members of the local community who use the PEPFAR-supported Epako Clinic.

 
Bush Institute insights:

PEPFAR's work in Ukraine has increased access to HIV screening and treatment, especially for those displaced by the conflict. In a recent interview, Dmytro Sherembei, head of coordination at 100% Life, shared his gratitude for U.S. investment in Ukraine through programs like PEPFAR:

“...in the most difficult times for individuals and the country, only those who need you the most will stay with you. For me, as a Ukrainian, it was a revelation that people from another continent, who are thousands of miles away from us, turned out to be closer to us than those who have always been close to us. That people speak a different language, but they share with us the same values, the same principles and the same approaches that we have had during the war.

I express my gratitude for every cent spent, for every word of encouragement, for every political support that the American people have given and continue to give to Ukrainians."

 
Standout statements:
 

Professor Salim Abdool Karim, director of the Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (Caprisa), underscored the importance of a five-year PEPFAR reauthorization in IOL South Africa: "However, when it has to be [authorized] every year, then politics plays a bigger role and we can expect more political interference in PEPFAR and its goals. If PEPFAR didn't exist, it would have an impact on our AIDS [program] because it would mean that our government would have to find more money to make up for the shortfall."

 
Ally updates:
 

PEPFAR-funded group Project HOPE works to "empower health care workers facing the world's greatest health crises," including in Ukraine. Over the past two years, Project HOPE has successfully helped 1.2 million people affected by the war in Ukraine "by equipping health clinics with supplies and medicines, training health workers, and deploying mobile medical units to reach people in remote and frontline communities."

 
Figure of the week:
 
4,000

Approximately 4,000 women and girls across the globe ages 15 to 24 became infected with HIV each week in 2022. That’s more than seven times the average population of an American public school. The Bush Institute’s Natalie Gonnella-Platts and Hannah Johnson underscore PEPFAR’s impact on health systems and increase access to care for women and girls in the Chicago Tribune:

“United Nations member states have set a goal of ending HIV/AIDS by 2030, and we’re halfway there. What was once a moonshot is now within reach. But the stakes have never been higher. To truly reach epidemic control, we must prioritize the needs of girls and young women, especially in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, where 78% of the girls and young women being infected live.

Africa is home to the largest youth population in the world, with almost 75% of the people across the continent younger than 35. Half of them are female. That’s why sustainable programs that overwhelmingly benefit women and children throughout their lives – such as PEPFAR – are so important.”

 
In the news:
 
Igor Khrestin
THE BRADFORD M. FREEMAN MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL POLICY

GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL CENTER
T: (214) 200-4315
E: IKhrestin@bushcenter.org

www.bushcenter.org

 

About the George W. Bush Institute

The George W. Bush Institute is a solution-oriented nonpartisan policy organization focused on ensuring opportunity for all, strengthening democracy, and advancing free societies. Housed within the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the Bush Institute is rooted in compassionate conservative values and committed to creating positive, meaningful, and lasting change at home and abroad. We utilize our unique platform and convening power to advance solutions to national and global issues of the day. Learn more at www.bushcenter.org

 

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