SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation welcomes the recent announcement by the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator of a proposed increase in funding to support the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, as well as increased targets for HIV treatment, prevention, and support for orphans and vulnerable children. PEPFAR has been a beacon of hope for millions of men, women and children living with HIV or at great risk of becoming infected.
Like many, we believe that even more funding should be provided not only for this program but for the full array of U.S. global health programs.
Every day, these initiatives help the poorest fight off debilitating and deadly diseases and strengthen the capacity of their countries to respond. The PEPFAR program and its partner, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, are proven initiatives that need and deserve more funding, as do others that are improving the health of mothers, immunizing babies against polio and measles, and helping children fight pneumonia and diarrhea (the two leading killers of children under five in the developing world).
In this challenging economic environment, we acknowledge and appreciate the leadership of President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and their team in finding additional funds for global health, and we look forward to working with all interested parties to meet and exceed objectives established for these programs. To succeed, we will need to work together to achieve more with the funding provided.
Costs for delivering care must be reduced, programs must be better focused and scientifically sound, and preventing and treating disease must both remain top priorities.
Most importantly, we must also continue investments to find new, more effective, and less expensive technologies to save lives in poor countries.