Urge lawmakers to support Global Fund

Just 20 years ago, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria were wreaking havoc on populations across the globe, killing millions. But the world came together. Pooling their resources, countries created the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Almost two decades later, that international partnership has helped save 27 million lives. In his 2019 State of the Union, the president pledged that “together we will defeat AIDS in America and beyond.” But then weeks later he slashed funding for the Global Fund — one of the most powerful tools we have against the diseases — in his budget.

As world leaders gather this October to make new commitments to the Global Fund, retreat is not an option. U.S. support for the Global Fund has always been bipartisan, crossing party lines when often not much else could. Though the control of Congress and the White House has shifted between parties over the last 17 years, U.S. support for the Global Fund has remained constant. The House Appropriations Committee has stepped up, putting $1.56 billion in the 2020 spending bill for the Global Fund. We need the Senate to do the same. We must also generate overwhelming support for two Global Fund resolutions: House Resolution 517 and one to be introduced in the Senate in September. Congress must step up and let the world know that the U.S. will continue to lead on the Global Fund. There is no other way progress will continue. Please contact Senators Burr and Tillis to urge them to throw their full support behind the Global Fund.

Howard Berkowitz, Candler