[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 452 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 452
Commemorating and supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 10, 2019
Mr. Isakson (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Risch, Mr. Menendez, Mr.
Sullivan, and Mr. Booker) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commemorating and supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.
Whereas, as of the end of 2018, an estimated 37,900,000 people were living with
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS), including 1,700,000 children;
Whereas the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals established a global
target to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030;
Whereas the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was launched in
2002, and, as of 2018, has helped provide antiretroviral therapy to
approximately 18,900,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and to 719,000
pregnant women to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS to their
children, saving an estimated 32,000,000 lives;
Whereas the United States is the largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria and, as of December 2019, every $1 contributed
by the United States has leveraged an additional $2 from other donors;
Whereas the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
program remains the largest commitment in history by any country to
combat a single disease;
Whereas, as of 2018, PEPFAR has supported treatment for approximately 14,600,000
people, including by providing antiretroviral drugs to 2,400,000
pregnant women living with HIV to prevent the transmission of HIV from
mother to child during birth;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2018, PEPFAR directly supported HIV testing and
counseling for nearly 95,000,000 people;
Whereas considerable progress has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS,
including a 16-percent reduction in new HIV infections, a 41-percent
reduction in new HIV infections among children, and a 33-percent
reduction in the number of AIDS-related deaths between 2010 and 2018;
Whereas approximately 23,300,000 people had access to antiretroviral therapy in
2018, compared to only 7,700,000 people who had access to such therapy
in 2010;
Whereas it is estimated that, without treatment, \1/2\ of all infants living
with HIV will die before their second birthday;
Whereas, despite the remarkable progress in combatting HIV/AIDS, significant
challenges remain;
Whereas there were approximately 1,700,000 new HIV infections in 2018,
structural barriers continue to make testing and treatment programs
inaccessible to highly vulnerable populations, and an estimated
8,100,000 people living with HIV globally still do not know their HIV
status;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than
37,000 people are diagnosed with HIV in the United States every year and
14 percent of the 1,100,000 people in the United States living with HIV
are not aware of their HIV status;
Whereas, in the United States, more than 675,000 people with AIDS have died
since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including 15,807 deaths
among people with diagnosed HIV in 2017, with the disease
disproportionately affecting minority communities;
Whereas December 1 of each year is internationally recognized as ``World AIDS
Day''; and
Whereas, in 2019, commemorations for World AIDS Day focused on the vital role
that communities play in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) supports the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day,
including the goal to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero
discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths;
(2) commends the efforts and achievements in combatting
HIV/AIDS made by PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS;
(3) supports efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the United
States by 2030;
(4) urges, in order to ensure that an AIDS-free generation
is achievable, rapid action by all countries toward further
expansion and scale-up of antiretroviral treatment programs,
including efforts to reduce disparities and improve access for
children to life-saving medications;
(5) encourages the scaling up of comprehensive prevention
services, including biomedical and structural interventions, to
ensure inclusive access to programs and appropriate protections
for all people at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, especially
hard-to-reach populations;
(6) calls for greater focus on the HIV-related
vulnerabilities of women and girls, including women and girls
at risk for or who have survived violence or faced
discrimination as a result of the disease;
(7) supports continued leadership by the United States in
domestic, bilateral, multilateral, and private sector efforts
to fight HIV;
(8) encourages and supports greater degrees of ownership
and shared responsibility by developing countries in order to
ensure the sustainability of the domestic responses to HIV/AIDS
by those countries; and
(9) urges other members of the international community to
sustain and scale up their support for and financial
contributions to efforts around the world to combat HIV/AIDS.
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