URGENT CALL TO ACTION:

SUPPORT THE REMOVAL OF THE ANTI-PROSTITUTION PLEDGE FROM PEPFAR!
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As you may know, "The United States Global Leadership Against
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008," a
bill that reauthorizes the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR), is poised for introduction in the House. This
bill makes several critical improvements to U.S. funded global HIV
prevention policy:

-It strikes the ideologically-driven requirement that 33% of
prevention funds be spent on abstinence-until-marriage programs,
-It removes the anti-prostitution pledge, a provision that has
forced groups that work with sex workers to choose between their
clients and their funding,
-It emphasizes the integration of HIV
and AIDS programs with
family planning programs

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HCFA) will gather
to
"markup" this bill tomorrow, February 27. As Senator Lantos, the
author of the bill and our champion in the House, has recently
passed away, it is even more important that calls be made to HCFA
members urging them to support the removal of the anti-
prostitution pledge during markup. Click
http://www.pepfarwatch.org/images/PEPFAR/hcfa_markuptargetsandscript.pdf
for the list of Representatives to call, their office
telephone numbers, and a sample phone script.

Click http://www.sexworkersproject.org/working-
group/downloads/20070330-BriefingPaperOnAnti-
ProstitutionPledge.pdf to read the Sex
Workers Project position
paper on the anti-prostitution pledge and
http://www.sexworkersproject.org/working-
group/TakingThePledgeVideo.html to watch a short video on the
pledge.