Testimony Calls for Full Funding of US Global Health Programs

Today's hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health highlighted the necessity of fully funding US commitments to fighting AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Dr. Peter Mugyenyi, a leader in the HIV/AIDS research community who was instrumental in the implementation of one of the largest PEPFAR funded programs in Uganda, offered a powerful description of how US flat funding of PEPFAR and Lantos-Hyde has affected people in need of life-saving HIV/AIDS treatment. Said Dr. Mugyenyi, "Currently, my institution, which pioneered antiretroviral therapy in Africa and treats a large proportion of AIDS patients in Uganda, is not taking new patients due to lack of funding. We are forced to turn away desperate patients daily-often 15 to 20. And most of those who come to us will have been turned away from a number of other clinics."

It is imperative that Congress act to fix the administration's budget request through the appropriations process in order to continue the lifesaving work and protect the investment of PEPFAR and Lantos-Hyde. US investments to combat HIV/AIDS have been instrumental in fighting the disease and we cannot afford to squander this opportunity to solidify the gains made over the past decade.

The US must also lead globally by contributing our fair share to the Global Fund. Dr. Joanne Carter, executive director of RESULTS, said that with proper investment the Global Fund "could virtually eliminate vertical (or so-called "mother-to-child") transmission of HIV, eliminate malaria as a public health threat in many endemic countries, and contain the spread of multi-drug resistant TB" by 2015. She continued, "These are audacious goals, but they are worthy of our support and achievable if we are willing to make the right investments." 

The following are testimonies from today's hearing:  

Dr. Peter Mugyenyi, director and founder of the Joint Clinical Research Center
Dr. Joanne Carter, executive director of RESULTS
Debra Messing, Global AIDS ambassador of Population Services International

 

Background Resources: 

PEPFAR Five-Year Strategy Analysis and Recommendations 

 

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