The Biden administration no doubt messed with the George W. Bush–initiated AIDS in Africa program — that W should have gotten the Nobel Peace Prize for — in more ways than we know. But it is some of the best of America — and people are counting on it. It’s not one-off delivery, but follow-through, not just lifesaving, but culture-changing.
Tomorrow — Friday, March 7 — there will be a rally in Washington, D.C., in support of following through on PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief) commitments. It is not an anti-Trump rally. It is not opposed to all the USAID cleanup. But good things are getting lost in the process and, honestly, if Vice President JD Vance wants to follow through on some of what he said last Friday at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast about working out Catholic social teaching in public life, he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio should make sure waivers really happen and the program survives on the medical, faithfulness, and mentorship pillars on which it was established.
If you are in the D.C. area, please consider joining a rally in support of prioritizing saving PEPFAR on Friday at noon at the Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro station. Details here.
Read what Dr. Matthew Loftus, a medical missionary in Kenya (who will be in town for the rally), wrote about his experience with PEPFAR here. And what some of us wrote in the New York Times recently here.
And God bless Leah Libresco Sargeant for organizing the rally, drafting the Times op-ed, and being committed to helping human flourishing in myriad ways.