Hi John,

Today is April Fools’ Day. It’s important to keep your guard up for pranks, hoaxes and scams. But do you know what is not a joke? The AIDS crisis still continuing to grow at an alarming rate, claiming almost 2,000 lives per day.

In the last two decades, the world has made incredible progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS in large part due to PEPFAR (the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). Since the program was launched, 25 million lives have been saved. 

Yet, the global COVID-19 pandemic and its social and economic aftershocks slowed progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS. As a result, there were significant declines in HIV testing and prevention services for key and vulnerable populations. On average, over 1.5 million people have become infected with HIV each year since 2019. 

With the tools we have today, it’s unacceptable that AIDS still claims over half a million lives a year. We cannot let progress make us complacent.

PEPFAR must be renewed this year and our leaders need to hear us loud and clear. Add your name to the growing list of thousands of Americans saying that we must end the HIV/AIDS crisis for good. 

Thank you.

Kelli Meyer, ONE.org