Letter to the Editor

An investment in global health is an investment in our future, and we hope that our Senate leaders would agree. Right now, our members of Senate are in the process of deliberating over the President’s FY19 budget proposal. This proposal calls for substantial reductions in the foreign aid account, which, if passed, would be woefully detrimental to all of the progress made thus far in ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic on a global scale.
The President’s FY19 proposal plans to slash The Global Fund, a US program that has proved itself essential to providing life-saving treatment for tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria to our world’s poorest citizens.
The Global Fund’s work against AIDS, TB, and malaria has already proved itself essential and successful, with its programs offering antiretroviral access to over eight million people worldwide; HIV infections in children have declined by 58 percent since 2001, with treatment costs at just one percent of what they used to be.
Tuberculosis has also risen in prevalence, accounting for approximately 4,000 deaths daily. However, while effective treatments exist, their exiguous availability in impoverished countries signifies the need for support. These US programs not only provide TB treatments, but also strengthen these countries overall health systems, thereby prompting more long-term solutions.
Such great strides in global health have led global leaders to predict an end to the AIDS and tuberculosis epidemic by 2030, as delineated in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. However, this universal goal can only be achieved if global health funding remains a priority in the FY19 budget.
We at the Duke Engage chapter of the Partners in Health organization implore our Senate representation, Senator Richard Burr and Senator Thom Tillis, to protect the Global Fund and support the right of all human beings to live healthy lives.

Lielle Elisha is a Trinity first-year.