IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1613 

Recognizing the importance of a continued commitment to ending pediatric 

HIV/AIDS worldwide. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2024 

Ms. MCCLELLAN (for herself, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. ROSS, Mrs. 

CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. MCIVER, Mr. 

VEASEY, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the importance of a continued commitment to 

ending pediatric HIV/AIDS worldwide. 

Whereas approximately half of the 39,000,000 people living 

with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the 

pathogen that causes the acquired immune deficiency 

syndrome (AIDS), worldwide are women and girls, and 

1,400,000 are children in 2023; 


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•HRES 1613 IH 

Whereas HIV is a leading cause of death among women of 

childbearing age worldwide; 

Whereas AIDS is a leading cause of death among adolescent 

girls globally; 

Whereas women around the world rely on essential pre- and 

post-natal care to provide screening for diseases such as 

HIV and care for their health and the health of their infants; 

Whereas, when antiretroviral drugs are used as prophylaxis, 

mother-to-child transmission of HIV can be reduced to 

less than 5 percent; 

Whereas, in 2005, only 17 percent of pregnant and 

breastfeeding women living with HIV were receiving 

treatment and services for prevention of mother-to-child 

transmission and that number in 2023 was 84 percent; 

Whereas 44 percent of new HIV infections globally are 

among women and girls in 2023; 

Whereas, globally, 67 percent of infants born to pregnant 

women living with HIV receive a virologic test within the 

first two months of birth; 

Whereas, without treatment half of all children with HIV will 

die by their second birthday, and 80 percent by their 

fifth birthday; 

Whereas, in 2018, nearly 90 percent of pregnant women living with HIV in need of HIV services worldwide live in 

sub-Saharan Africa; 

Whereas 86 percent of children living with HIV are in subSaharan Africa; 


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•HRES 1613 IH 

Whereas, despite increased global and United States efforts, 

over 110,000 children in Sub-Saharan Africa became infected with HIV in 2022; 

Whereas progress in meeting the global 95-95-95 treatment 

targets by 2030, which calls for 95 percent of those living 

with HIV to know their status; 95 percent of those who 

know their status to be on treatment; and 95 percent of 

those on treatment to be virally suppressed and sustained, is slower among children than adults; 

Whereas 57 percent of children living with HIV were on lifesaving antiretroviral therapy in 2023 compared to 77 

percent of adults globally; 

Whereas 76,000 children died of AIDS-related causes in 

2023; 

Whereas, every week, approximately 4,000 adolescent girls 

and young women aged 15 to 24 years became infected 

with HIV globally in 2023, and 3,100 of these infections 

occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Whereas research efforts at the National Institutes of Health 

have led to extraordinary breakthroughs for children infected with and at risk for contracting HIV; 

Whereas the United States began investing in prevention of 

mother-to-child transmission services in 2002 with the 

announcement of the United States International Mother 

and Child HIV Prevention Initiative; 

Whereas, in January 2024, the United States celebrated the 

21st anniversary of the establishment of PEPFAR; 

Whereas, in fiscal year 2023, PEPFAR supported HIV testing and counseling for more than 71,100,000 people and 

since the program’s inception the provision of 

antiretroviral drug prophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child 


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•HRES 1613 IH 

transmission has allowed nearly 5,500,000 babies to be 

born HIV free; 

Whereas the PEPFAR DREAMS initiative is working to reduce new HIV infections in adolescent and young women 

in 15 sub-Saharan countries; 

Whereas every mother should have the opportunity to fight 

for the life of her child; and 

Whereas every child and adolescent should have access to 

medicines to lead a long and healthy life: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes that the prevention of mother-to3 child transmission of HIV is critical to stopping the 

4 spread of HIV worldwide; 

5 (2) recognizes that the fight to eliminate pedi6 atric HIV worldwide has been a priority area for the 

7 United States in its global AIDS response for more 

8 than 21 years and calls on this leadership to con9 tinue; 

10 (3) supports providing adolescents and young 

11 women with the evidence-based approaches necessary 

12 to prevent new HIV infections; 

13 (4) supports providing women and children with 

14 HIV counseling and testing services where possible, 

15 and scaling up access to services and medicines that 

16 prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and en17 sure HIV positive mothers survive and thrive; 


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•HRES 1613 IH 

1 (5) supports scaling up of treatment for HIV 

2 for children and adolescents including greater access 

3 to more efficacious antiretroviral drug regimens, age 

4 appropriate services, and support for their care5 givers; 

6 (6) applauds the United States leadership on 

7 efforts to eliminate new pediatric HIV infections and 

8 to scale-up pediatric treatment through programs 

9 and research; 

10 (7) encourages the United States President’s 

11 Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to continue its 

12 leadership through the creation of a standalone pedi13 atric HIV strategy that is in alignment with the pri14 ority actions for children as defined in the ‘‘Global 

15 AIDS Strategy 2021–2026’’; and 

16 (8) reaffirms the United States commitment to 

17 lead the world to the end of AIDS, to eliminate new 

18 pediatric HIV infections worldwide, and support 

19 women, children, adolescents, and families infected 

20 and affected by HIV. 

Æ 


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