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Former U.S. Senators Press Congress to Treat Global Health as Strategic Asset, Citing PEPFAR's 26 Million Lives

6/21/2026

senators are urging Congress to institutionalize what they call "strategic health diplomacy" — the deliberate use of global health investment as an instrument of American national interest.

Writing through the Bipartisan Policy Center, they point to PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief launched in 2003, as the clearest evidence the approach delivers: 26 million lives saved, millions of HIV infections prevented, and documented gains in pro-American sentiment, socioeconomic outcomes, and political stability in countries that received the program's support.

The PEPFAR Data Make the Case The Bipartisan Policy Center's research compared PEPFAR target countries directly against countries that did not receive the program's support.

PEPFAR nations showed better socioeconomic indices and reduced political instability — outcomes the authors frame not as philanthropy but as measurable strategic returns.