1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

The decision to end funding for vital global health initiatives like Gavi and malaria prevention programs is deeply concerning. These programs have saved millions of lives and are critical to combating infectious diseases that disproportionately impact the world's poorest and most vulnerable populations. Cutting this funding will have devastating consequences, allowing preventable diseases to spread unchecked and undoing decades of progress. We urge you to reconsider this misguided policy that will ultimately cost far more lives than it saves. Continuing U.S. leadership and financial support for programs like Gavi is not only the moral and ethical path forward, but is in our nation's strategic interests to promote global health security and stability. Infectious disease knows no borders - by protecting the health of the world's most vulnerable, we protect the health and safety of all. The modest investments in these life-saving programs represent a tiny fraction of the federal budget yet yield immense returns in lives saved, economic growth enabled, and U.S. leadership bolstered. We call on you to exhibit the compassionate leadership the world expects from America by robustly funding efforts to vaccinate children, fight malaria, and halt the spread of preventable diseases globally.