BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (WTVF) — Christian music artist Amy Grant performed Wednesday night to raise awareness and support for the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is facing serious budget cuts.
A coalition of faith-based organizations and their partners hosted an awareness-raising concert on Wednesday, June 18, to spotlight the urgent need for continued support of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other global health initiatives. The event brought together Christian artists and advocates to reaffirm the church’s leadership in supporting lifesaving care worldwide.
"For years, I've been involved with PEPFAR on so many different levels, my appreciation, love for Bono. And I guess this was initially his passion, my involvement with Bill Frist," Grant said.
PEPFAR, launched in 2003 by President George W. Bush, is the largest global health initiative targeting a single disease. Its mission is to fight HIV/AIDS and strengthen global health.
"The work of PEPFAR is about so many things, but global health, women, children, just eradicating HIV," Grant said.
With over $110 billion invested, PEPFAR has saved 26 million lives and helped control HIV/AIDS in more than 50 countries. However, recent funding freezes and federal cuts have raised concerns about its future.
"Tonight's all about celebrating and saying we've come so far, and we will get there. And, you know, I look at the conservative faith community and the word pro-life is said many times, and I go, woo, there's, there's, there's not much more of a pro-life effort than combating HIV AIDS, that is worldwide," Grant said.
The event, held at Otter Creek Church in Brentwood, Tennessee, was headlined by contemporary Christian singer Amy Grant, along with fellow evangelical artists Charlie Peacock, Steve Taylor, Matt Maher, and Brandon Heath. Russell Moore, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, also attended and spoke.
"We really want to see Congress take a stand for full funding for PEPFAR and back this bipartisan program that people of faith and people in the arts and people all around the world have supported for the last 23 years," said Jenny Dyer, founder of the 2030 Collaborative.
Dyer's nonprofit works closely with the federal initiative.
"The US has led the world in cutting the death rates of HIV AIDS to almost 75%, so we are almost at the end here. By 2030, we project that we will end the AIDS epidemic as it stands," Dyer said.
But she says reaching that goal requires continued Congressional support.
The Trump administration recognized the impact of PEPFAR and included funding for it in the federal budget.
However, the President's budget for PEPFAR has been reduced significantly, which has raised concerns about its future of the program.
The President's budget bill has passed the House, and advocates are now calling on members of the Senate to fully fund PEPFAR to help save lives.
This story was reported on-air and written by Kelsey Gibbs and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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