Despite Consensus and Mounting Evidence, Challenges to Improved HIV-Reproductive Health Linkages Remain

7 I n line with President Bush’s personal commitment, Congress recently voted to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In addition to calling for a major increase in U.S. spending on international AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria activities, the new legislation supports linkages—either directly or by referral—with a long list of ancillary services that often affect AIDS-impacted individuals and families, including nutrition, access to safe water and sanitation, substance abuse and treatment services, and legal services. It also expands programs aimed at addressing the factors that drive the pandemic for women, including initiatives to reduce gender-based violence and empower women economically.