Please take a moment to ask your Members of Congress that critical funding for AIDS, TB and malaria should not be lost in the current budget negotiations.

Message from Linda Bales
General Board of Church and Society
www.umc-gbcs.org

In 2003, President Bush and the U.S. Congress initiated the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) which has resulted in the US leading the way worldwide in the provision of funds for AIDS, TB and malaria. Treatment rates in Africa have increased eightfold, with 50,000 new people being introduced to treatment each month.

In 2006, the U.S. Congress promised to increase funding for global AIDS, TB, and malaria programs by approximately $1 billion in 2007. Lawmakers did not take final action on most 2007 spending bills and is now proposing funding most U.S. government programs at their 2006 funding levels all throughout 2007. This would mean the loss of the $1 billion in planned funding for AIDS, TB, and malaria.

The consequences of losing these funds would be devastating. For example, infection rates are increasing – with more than four million new infections in 2006 alone. Current momentum in fighting AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria will be slowed dramatically. At least 350,000 people slated for live-saving treatment in 2007 would not receive it, with anywhere from 100,000 to 175,000 of those people dying. The hardest-hit will be women, orphans, and vulnerable children. Even if Congress decides to restore the $1 billion at a later date, the lives lost can never be recovered.

Thank you for participating in the vital effort to ensure greater levels of funding for the most pressing health crisis facing humanity.