PATH statement on the US Administration's proposed Fiscal Year 2019 budget

February 12, 2018 by Carolyn Reynolds

Media inquiries: Kate Davidson | media@path.org

The following is a statement from Carolyn Reynolds, PATH's Vice President for Policy and Advocacy, on the release of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request:

"For the second year in a row, the Administration's budget includes extensive cuts to global health and development programs at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department. We are deeply concerned that these cuts not only put lives at risk but also reduce America's own security and standing in the world. Given the extensive threats we face that require international cooperation and investment, gutting US support for global health and development is the wrong choice for America and for the world.

Thanks in large part to US leadership, the world has seen progress over the past few years in helping some of the poorest countries become better prepared to stop deadly or debilitating infectious diseases before they spread to our borders. Yet much of this progress is nascent and fragile. One bright spot in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget request is a strong signal of support for the Centers for Disease Control to continue to invest in outbreak preparedness through the Global Health Security Agenda.

However, this support should not come at the expense of other vital global health efforts at CDC and USAID, such as those for maternal and child health, HIV and AIDS. These programs are saving countless lives and providing the backbone for poor countries to deliver basic health services and to prevent, detect and respond to emerging disease threats. If enacted, cuts to these global health programs would put the health and safety of the most vulnerable women and children around the world at grave risk.

As they did last year, we urge Members of Congress to continue the decades of bipartisan support for these critical investments and fully fund global health and development programs."

PATH joins leading humanitarian, development, and global health organizations today in calling upon Congress to sustain and protect the International Affairs budget in FY 2019.

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Posted on February 12, 2018.