Congress Must Restore $1 Billion in AIDS, TB, & Malaria Funding and Provide Emergency Funds to Tackle Extremely Drug-Resistant TB

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Press ReleaseCongress Must Restore $1 Billion in AIDS, TB and Malaria Funding and Provide Emergency Funds to Tackle Extremely Drug-Resistant TBSenators Durbin and Brownback Call on Colleagues to Reinstate 2007 Funding Levels

Contact: Jove Oliver, 646-595-7907; Gartner, 202-789-0432, ext 210; Asia , 267-475-2645Washington D.C. – Congress’ decision to bypass 2007 appropriations legislation and extend 2006 levels into the new year will mean cuts of almost $1 billion in funding for programs to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the 2007 budget. If not reversed, these cuts will force hundreds of thousands of people to forgo prevention, treatment, care and support for the three most deadly infectious diseases in the world, according to RESULTS Educational Fund, Global AIDS Alliance, Student Global AIDS Campaign, American Jewish World Service and Health GAP.In bipartisan action last year, Congress approved $4.37 billion for programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world for 2007. However, the joint funding resolution (or “continuing resolution”) expected to be passed by the new Congress will instead keep spending at 2006 levels which would mean only $3.43 billion for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria efforts – a loss of $940 million.“The global AIDS pandemic continues its explosive growth; extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has surfaced as an emergency in Africa and is a serious threat in the U.S.; and malaria persists in taking the lives of pregnant women and children under five,” said Joanne , director of global initiatives at RESULTS Educational Fund. “We are confident that once the danger of doing too little is clear, the 110th Congress will reinstate the previously agreed 2007 spending levels for AIDS, TB and malaria, and take further urgent action to combat XDR-TB.”In a positive new development, Senators Durbin (D-IL) – the incoming Senate Majority Whip – and Sam Brownback (R-KS) today sent a letter to their colleagues asking them to join in calling on the 110th Congress to reinstate the previous funding levels for AIDS, TB and malaria. They argued that “the United States has led the world in scaling up both multilateral and bilateral programs to fight HIV/AIDS as well as tuberculosis and malaria. We have made remarkable gains in recent years, although even these achievements have not kept pace with the diseases. Level funding would have a devastating impact on our efforts and the momentum that we have been building.”A companion letter in the House of Representatives is currently being drafted by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and will be circulated shortly.Congress must also support an emergency infusion of resources to help address the XDR-TB emergency. These dangerous forms of TB are virtually incurable, are especially deadly for those with HIV/AIDS and are threatening to undermine AIDS treatment roll-out and TB treatment in southern Africa. XDR-TB is fast becoming a problem in the U.S. as well. The supplemental spending bill, due early in 2007, should include an emergency allocation of $300 million to fight XDR-TB worldwide, before it is too late. On the domestic front, federal, state and local resources to fight TB are slated to be cut, even in the face of growing numbers of drug-resistant cases, and already inadequate resources for basic control. The supplemental must also include additional resources for the fight against TB here at home.At minimum, the 110th Congress needs to: 1) Restore funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, AIDS and other health programs to the promised levels for 2007 within the joint funding resolution, including: $3.42 billion for bilateral AIDS, TB and research programs, including activities in the 15 PEPFAR focus countries;$700 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and$234 million for bilateral malaria programs, including full funding for the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).2) Provide $300 million for an emergency response to the global XDR-TB emergency and additional TB program funds domestically within the $100 billion supplemental funding bill.President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS ReliefWith the creation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003, the United States made an historic commitment to battle HIV/AIDS. Centered on the rapid scale-up of prevention, care and treatment programs in 15 countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, these programs have played a key role in our response to the global pandemic. As of September 30, 2006, PEPFAR has supported anti-retroviral treatment for 822,000 people in the focus countries, with 61 percent of those supported being women. Level funding would result in a loss of up to $700 million for the 15 focus countries. As a result, 280,000 fewer people will be put on AIDS treatment. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and MalariaThe Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was created in 2002 to massively scale-up the world’s response to the three diseases. It has grown into an organization with $6.8 billion committed to programs in 136 countries, and now provides 20 percent of donor financing for AIDS, and two-thirds of all donor funding for TB and malaria. As a result of its work, 770,000 people are receiving life-saving AIDS medication, 2 million people have been treated for TB, and more than 18 million bednets have been distributed to prevent children from getting malaria. For every $100 million taken away, the Global Fund will not be able to purchase:· 370,000 HIV tests· 11,000 treatments for AIDS· 80,000 treatments for TB· 630,000 bed nets to prevent malaria· 150,000 treatments for malariaExtremely Drug-Resistant TuberculosisXDR-TB is an emergency in Africa, a threat in countries across the world and a growing problem in the U.S. An outbreak of XDR-TB in South Africa last year killed 52 of 53 people infected in a matter of weeks, and this is only the tip of the iceberg in southern Africa. XDR-TB is virtually incurable and particularly deadly for people with AIDS. Even more worrisome is the fact that anti-retrovirals did not protect people with AIDS from this form of TB in the South Africa outbreak – this means XDR-TB could literally reverse the progress made, and billions of dollars invested, in AIDS treatment scale-up.Research shows that this rapidly spreading air-borne disease is now present in every country surveyed, including the U.S where both XDR-TB and multidrug-resistant TB are on the rise. It is essential that the U.S. make serious investments to control this emergency and prevent further XDR-TB by providing $300 million in the supplemental spending bill that Congress will consider in the new year. $300 million would represent 0.3% of the supplemental – a worthwhile investment in preventing the spread of an incurable disease, and far less costly than the $1 billion that New York City spent to control just some 300 cases of drug-resistant TB in the early 1990s. Additional resources must also be provided in the supplemental to reverse cuts and support domestic efforts to control TB here in the U.S. President’s Malaria InitiativeIn addition to the Global Fund, the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and other bilateral programs are also central to the U.S. response to malaria. Announced in 2005, the PMI is a five-year, $1.2 billion program to fight the disease in 15 sub-Saharan African countries. By the end of November 2006, PMI was supporting activities benefiting over 6 million people in three initial countries - Tanzania, Angola and Uganda. With the announcement of four new “focus” countries in June of 2006 and the eight remaining countries at last month’s White House Summit on Malaria, it is critical to sustain these important programs. Level-funding will have a significant impact on scaling up this critical fight.###