Over the next few weeks, appropriators will be engaged in the challenging task of evaluating U.S. foreign assistance funding, including how effectively Congress’ global health investments are being used.
As organizations funded in part by the U.S government to implement global health programs in the field, we agree that every effort should be made to ensure that funding is used efficiently and distributed in a timely manner. But we also see firsthand how U.S. global health programs are working, and why now is not the time to cut multilateral and bilateral funding for these efforts.
Congress’ decadelong investment in improving global health has been more successful than most of us in this field could have ever imagined. Millions of people are alive today because of signature multilateral programs such as the GAVI Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and U.S.-led bilateral initiatives including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the President’s Malaria Initiative, and assistance for tuberculosis and maternal and child health. This success has taken place in parts of the world where progress once seemed unlikely, and often within health systems once thought to be beyond repair.
In regions where little hope existed just 10 years ago, U.S. global health funding has paved the way for dramatic gains against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and maternal and child mortality — and has transformed the lives of millions in the process.
Lyons, Coye, Miles and Stearns: Preserve Congress’ Investment in Global Health
Special to Roll Call | Charles Lyons, Molly Joel Coye, Carolyn Miles and Richard Stearns | May 9, 2012