The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is being dismantled. Many people will die because they won’t get the medication they need to suppress HIV. Few who voted for Trump expected PEPFAR to end; fewer think dismantling PEPFAR suddenly and without warning is wise. The people who are alive today because of PEPFAR are not abstractions to me; they are my friends, colleagues, patients, and fellow church members where I live and work in Kenya. I see the results of PEPFAR in my work as a medical missionary because it provides lifesaving medications for the people I treat, and it’s a wise use of my tax dollars (my theological, moral, and political reasoning for this statement can be found in the links at the bottom of this post. I’m praying that God will find a way to either reinstate PEPFAR or provide for people living with HIV in other ways.

Every year, I fast from something during Lent to join with my ancestors in the faith as well as my brothers and sisters in Christ. This year, I will abstain from all food between 7AM and 7PM every day to focus my prayers on PEPFAR and people living with HIV around the world. Many HIV medications are taken twice a day, so fasting for twelve hours a day seems like the most reasonable way to help me direct my prayers. I know that many people supported by PEPFAR will likely forego food in order to buy the medication they need; so this helps me to remember to pray for them.

While I do want people to learn more about PEPFAR, I also want our public servants to make clear where they stand on whether or not it should continue. I’m fasting because I believe that God is capable of providing for people in need, and my appeal is primarily to Him. It would certainly be straightforward if the Christians who have power over the U.S. government’s spending decided to reinstate PEPFAR funding based on their fear of a holy God and their desire to avoid a scenario like that of Lazarus and the rich man. (Luke 16:19-31) However, God is capable of doing many different things to ensure that people with HIV don’t die. For example, at the moment, the African Mission Healthcare Foundation is raising funds to fill in the gaps left by the sudden and unwise cancellation of PEPFAR contracts. Perhaps this is one of many ways that God will work.

I’m well aware of the dangers of “raising awareness” and making a show of one’s fasting (Matthew 6:16-18); I’m telling people about this publicly so that they can consider whether or not PEPFAR is something they’d like to fast over during Lent. I am fasting to remind myself and others that nothing I do and nothing the President, Vice-President, Secretary of State, or anyone else can do will stop Him from caring for His people. I would invite my fellow Christians who do have power to go before God and ask Him whether He wants them to work to restore PEPFAR funding.

I’d love for other people to join me in praying, fasting, and appealing to the political authorities that God has put in place because His love is stronger and more powerful than any earthly kingdom. Jesus died and rose again so that we could be saved from the power of sin and death, which means not only avoiding hell (a real place where Jesus made it very clear that people who do not repent of their callousness towards the poor will go), but also enjoying an abundant life of spiritual blessings in this life and the next. Helping people avoid an early death due to HIV is one way among many for us to push back against the power of sin and death and declare the goodness of God’s kingdom.

My personal vocation has led me to work in a mission hospital teaching and discipling medical professionals, but anyone and everyone can pray for God to do great things. My appeal is for Christians to direct their prayers during this Lenten season towards PEPFAR and people living with HIV with the expectation that God will deliver them and that He will be glorified as they live long and healthy lives.

Further information about PEPFAR & recent pieces I’ve written on contributed to on the subject:

As Fellow Pro-Lifers, We Are Begging Marco Rubio to Save Foreign Aid – The New York Times – I coauthored this one with Leah Libresco Sargeant, Kristin M. Collier, and Kathryn Jean Lopez. The name pretty much says it all—we believe that PEPFAR (especially in preventing mother-to-child transmission) serves pro-life goals around the world.

I’ve Seen Firsthand How PEPFAR Works – Christianity Today – I wrote this one about how I’ve seen PEPFAR work and why it matters to our work. My CEO at Chogoria Hospital and I were also interviewed in this Christianity Today piece about the end of USAID, this piece for The Vital Center, and this piece for The Dispatch.

Americans and Foreign Aid: A Crisis of Compassion? – Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker – I went on Amy Julia Becker’s podcast to talk about some of the nitty-gritty details about USAID, PEPFAR, and what will happen if funding is not restored.

How to Think About Using Government Funds for Christian Charity – Mere Orthodoxy – This is a broader essay looking at the theological and practical reasoning for using taxpayer dollars to pay for works of mercy. Justice and charity are not mutually exclusive domains, and the Church has been using government funds to pay for charitable acts since late antiquity.

Attack waste, not lifesaving aid – WORLD Opinion – This was a shorter piece trying to figure out how to differentiate waste from critical aid.

PEPFAR Represents Pragmatic Compassion – Commonplace – This is responding to a specific piece that raised some objections to things that Leah Libresco Sargent and I wrote about. It gets into some broader questions about foreign policy and vulnerable populations. Be sure to read Leah’s response as well: Don’t Let The Grim Reaper Teach Sex Ed.