Senators aim to
continue PEPFAR

Senators Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, and Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, are discussing proposals to extend global AIDS programs supported by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief when PEPFAR ends in fiscal 2008, CQ HealthBeat reports. Frist and Feingold, cochairmen of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Task Force on HIV/AIDS, hope to begin a second five-year phase of PEPFAR in fiscal 2009 and plan to soon build bipartisan consensus on the proposal. Frist says he'd like to expand PEPFAR's focus to providing access to clean water; he says dirty water is a catalyst for disease and too many poor nations have inadequate clean-water supplies. He also supports creating a global health corps of health care professionals who will work in poor nations and foster greater understanding between AIDS advocates and evangelical groups who are fighting the pandemic overseas. Feingold hopes to expand HIV prevention programs, including those focusing on drug use and unprotected sex. (The Advocate)