Miami, Florida ---- Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who represents the 18^th Congressional District and serves as Ranking Republican Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will host a Sunday meeting with Christopher Bates, Acting Director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, and Ambassador Mark R. Dybul, United States Global AIDS Coordinator, to discuss America's efforts to combat HIV/AIDS at home and abroad.

WHO: Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ambassador Mark R. Dybul, United States Global AIDS Coordinator, leading the implementation of the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a position he’s held since 2006. Dybul is a physician by training and also serves as Assistant Surgeon General; Christopher Bates, Acting Director for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, is responsible for the federal government’s domestic response to the HIV/AIDS challenge.

WHERE:          The Biltmore Hotel

1200 Anastasia Avenue
Coral Gables, FL 33134

Aragon Room

WHEN:            Sunday, March 16 from 11am to 12pm

Said Ros-Lehtinen: “Millions of people here in the United States and abroad are living with HIV/AIDS  and we must come together as a community and nation to combat this scourge.

Miami-Dade County ranks first in the State of Florida in the number of AIDS cases.   This is why full funding of the “Ryan White Act” is certainly vital, as are efforts to expand Medicaid to cover treatment costs. As a lead sponsor of the “Early Treatment for HIV Act,” I know that this important initiative gives states an option to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income individuals living with HIV earlier in the course of the disease. We should not have to wait for an individual to become debilitated from the disease in order to provide coverage for treatment as this approach makes no sense whatsoever for we have a sicker patient, enjoying less quality of life and enduring higher medical bills.

With effective prevention and treatment programs, we are saving lives worldwide.  This is why I am proud to be the co-author of a bipartisan bill adopted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in recent weeks, which will help ensure we continue to successfully address the HIV/AIDS pandemic while also providing prevention and treatment for TB and Malaria. HIV/AIDS is the plague of our times and we must treat it as such.”

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