[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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