Reason to celebrate
By RESULTS Executive Director Joanne Carter
Yesterday I watched a bipartisan group from Congress stand on stage, addressing a room full of world leaders focused on the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The message from Congress? Exactly what we’ve been pushing for all year.
Congressional leaders committed to contribute $4.68 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria over the next three years – a full third of the $14 billion it will take for this partnership to save 16 million lives.
This morning a long line of other leaders stood on the same stage making pledges. The total ticked up to a record $13.92 billion, with a personal promise from the president of France to get to $14 billion by December!
As I watched each announcement at the podium today, I was thinking of all of you who made the U.S. pledge possible. I was thinking of our partners around the world who mobilized their own governments into action. And I was thinking of what those dollars pledged can really mean: 16 million lives saved, 234 million infections averted, and the chance to end these epidemics for good.
When the White House kept trying to slash the budget for the Global Fund, you worked with Congress to stand united in a bipartisan way. Together you supported more than 250 members of Congress from both parties to sign letters, sponsor resolutions, move their colleagues into action, and push back against the administration.
That work paid off on stage today – and it will continue to pay off in millions of lives and communities around the world.
The threats to this work are not over, and we know that the $14 billion target was the absolute minimum needed. But today I hope you’ll take a moment to celebrate what you’ve made possible – and grab tight to our bigger vision of putting an end to these epidemics. Together I know we can get there.
The Global Fund saved my life
By Shakila Enayatzade
“Nine years ago, at age 20, I was suffering from a cough and weakness in my body. I didn’t know what was wrong. I later learned I had become sick with a deadly disease called tuberculosis (TB).”
Why I advocate for the Global Fund (Part I)
By Bukekile Dube
“For me, advocacy is very personal. This is about my family. I don’t have to psych myself up for it – it’s a part of who I am. It doesn’t really feel like work to me. It’s just what I believe in.”
First-Name Basis (Part II)
By Bukekile Dube
“‘Hi, Buke!’ my representative said warmly, and greeted me with a hug at his Capitol Hill office. A year ago I never would have dreamed that I would be on a first-name basis with a member of Congress.”
Coast-to-Coast Media
Supporting the Global Fund
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