Mothers and babies

He says, the Glaser Foundation’s efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of the AIDS virus have brought major benefits.

Mother, nurse and baby in PMTCT program

“Over the last five years alone, the programs have grown from almost nothing to coverage of about 50 percent of all HIV-positive pregnant women in the country. Right now, efforts are being made to cover the second half and also to expand the detection of HIV in young children,” says Bitarakwate.

Bitarakwate says without the program there would be an additional 22,000 HIV-infected children born every year in Uganda - and many HIV-positive pregnant women would go undiagnosed.

The Glaser Foundation wants Congress to take note of its success and rethink cutting funds to PEPFAR and the Global Fund.

“Almost 90 percent of the funding we have is from the U.S. government. And any funding cuts would significantly impact the work we’re doing. But that said, you know, we’ve tried to devise means of being as cost effective as possible. We are learning to offer more services without increasing our budget. So it’s an adjustment we’re making. But any cuts in funding would undeniably affect the work that’s being done,” he says.

The Glaser Foundation is one of many groups and organizations calling on Congress to reject the budget cuts. They say reductions would mean more people being infected with HIV and going without treatment. In the long run, they say, it would cost more money because the problem would have grown much bigger.