Why We Must Protect the Global Fund

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is under assault, and without a strong response from the global health community to this week’s unwarranted attack, the Fund’s future could be in doubt.

The attack came in the form of an Associated Press and Fox News stories that appeared days before President Obama’s State of the Union address, when the president outlines his priorities and sets the stage for submission of his budget. The timing of the story — and the velocity with which it was picked up by newspapers nationally and internationally — is no coincidence. It’s always easier to cut programs that have been criticized. Congress — carving knives at the ready — is preparing to make critical decisions about how the U.S. spends money.