Global STDs & HIV

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• Someone gets HIV every 12 and a half seconds.
• More than 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. 
• There are 340 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) every year.
• And there are millions more people at risk, especially women and young people. 

Despite the clear need for expanded access to condoms and medically accurate sexual health information, the Bush administration has promoted ideology over public health in the fight against HIV and other STIs.

In 2003, the president worked with Congress to create the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, a five-year, $15 billion initiative to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS around the world. However, one-third of the prevention funds in PEPFAR must be spent on abstinence-only programs. Instead of promoting comprehensive prevention programs that include information about abstinence and condom use, these programs promote a biased agenda and put the health and lives of millions of people at risk.

Planned Parenthood is asking Congress to redirect this funding to support comprehensive prevention programs that will improve access to condoms and sexual health information and save millions of lives. On the ground, our international programs are providing culturally appropriate, comprehensive HIV and sexual health information throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Join the Planned Parenthood Action Network to learn more about global health issues and commonsense uses for PEPFAR funding.