President Obama Stands Firm for Global Health, But Millions of Lives Still

[Guest guest]

President Obama Stands Firm for Global Health, But Millions of Lives Still Compromised

 

Feb. 14, 2011 – Washington, D.C. – President Obama has demonstrated strong leadership in global health through his unwavering 2012 budget commitment today to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The president’s budget includes $1.3 billion to the Global Fund.

 

However, such funding falls far short of the $2 billion U.S. fair share needed to treat 3 million HIV-infected people, and it leaves 500,000 babies vulnerable to transmission from their mothers, adding to the world’s burden.

 

That $2 billion is about the same amount as the U.S. is spending on several discredited weapons systems that Defense Secretary Gates has called into question. This includes spending nearly $2 billion on the Medium Extended Air Defense System, despite a blistering internal Army report that called it ill-suited, and $3 billion on the Marines' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which Gates has said should be cancelled due to extreme reliability issues.

 

The Global Fund, by contrast, is the world’s most effective and transparent international organization and has saved the lives of more than 6.5 million people infected with AIDS, TB and malaria. A recent wire story – based on information reported transparently by the Global Fund itself last year – detailed problems in four of the Global Fund’s 145 grant-receiving countries, erroneously implying it is widespread. The story failed to state this occurred in less than 3/10ths of 1% of the Global Fund’s grants and that most of the money has been recovered due to the strong work of its inspector general.

 

“President Obama is making a clear statement that the Global Fund is vital in the effort to prevent and treat global HIV/AIDS,” says Carol Bergman, deputy executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance. “The Administration clearly has not been cowed by drastically overblown media reports from suspect sources.”

 

The Obama Administration made an unprecedented multi-year pledge to the Global Fund in October of $4 billion over 3 years, or about $1.3 billion per year – the same amount in the president’s budget. That is a $300 million increase from his request last year, despite operating in a charged political environment where cost-cutting has been extreme.

 

Congressional Challenges Remain

 

On Friday, the House proposed cutting the president’s request for the 2011 global health budget by an astounding $1.5 billion. This would cut global AIDS programs by $813.3million compared to the year before. Such cuts would translate into the deaths of more than 1 million people who rely on access to lifesaving medicines through the Global Fund and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a highly successful program established by President W. Bush and carried forward by President Obama

 

Although the cuts still are being debated and relate to last year’s request – not the just-released 2012 budget – they point to the need for strong backing of these bipartisan programs by those who worked with President Bush to pass PEPFAR. The Obama Administration has further emphasized the importance of global health to national security, an issue that Democrats and Republicans have found common ground to support.

 

“Over the past decade, the United States has been a shining model to the rest of the world in working with countries to develop strong and sustainable country-led programs,” says Bergman. “Because of those efforts, the world stands at the brink of ending pediatric AIDS forever, rather than risk the potential collapse of weak states. President Obama is standing firm on meeting America’s obligations.”

 

+++++++++

The Global AIDS Alliance seeks to mobilize a comprehensive and compassionate response to the global AIDS crisis while addressing the epidemic’s links to social justice issues such as poverty and gender inequity. We demand faster, bolder action and concrete results for people living with HIV/AIDS and at risk of HIV infection.

 

Contact Stern: 202-789-0432 ext.211, jstern@...