Support The PATHWAY Act

A new U.S. government report on the Bush administration’s abstinence-only HIV/AIDS prevention programs was released in May. The Bush administration supports a law mandating that 1/3 of all U.S. global HIV/AIDS prevention funds be used for these programs, which the GAO report found are NOT effective at preventing the global spread of the virus.

In response to the report’s findings and to the fuss thousands of other concerned citizens made about this news, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) recently introduced the Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth (PATHWAY) Act of 2006.

The PATHWAY Act will save lives by eliminating this counterproductive, dangerous funding requirement and by forcing the U.S. government to develop a comprehensive strategy to stop the spread of HIV among women and children.

Click here to urge your Representative to protect women and children from HIV/AIDS by co-sponsoring this vitally important act!

Countries need the flexibility to develop HIV/AIDS prevention programs that respond to their unique needs rather than ineffective abstinence-only programs that take desperately-needed resources from programs that are effective in preventing the spread of the virus.

In order to comply with the current abstinence-only funding requirement, countries have had to reduce funding for programs that are proven to work, including Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programs and programs for people at the highest risk of contracting HIV -- sexually active youth, truckers, sex workers, and couples in which one partner is HIV+.

The Bush administration’s ideologically-driven insistence on abstinence-only HIV/AIDS prevention programs is hurting the people who are most at risk and most in need of help.

Please help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and children in the world’s most AIDS-ravaged countries by clicking here to contact your member of Congress about the PATHWAY Act today.