As Physicians and Scientists Who Have Seen Firsthand the Value of U.S
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January 31, 2017 The President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC, 20500 Dear Mr. President: As physicians and scientists who have seen firsthand the value of U.S. leadership in global health, we are writing to share our insights on the impacts of the investments this country has made and the vital importance of continuing them. The global health threats recently posed by influenza, Ebola and Zika make the increasing frequency and severity of transnational infectious disease outbreaks impossible to ignore. This pattern will continue. Addressing infectious diseases abroad is essential to protecting the American people at home and our economic interests abroad. The United States has been a longstanding leader in global health. Our country has been extraordinarily effective in improving the health of millions while advancing our global health security and strengthening our standing with international leaders and trade partners. We urge you to build on that leadership. The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the most important and ambitious global health program ever implemented by any nation to address a single disease has had measurable impact on the lives of millions. PEPFAR supports lifesaving antiretroviral treatment for nearly 11.5 million people, has prevented two million babies from being born with HIV, and trained hundreds of thousands of health care workers in low-income countries. These remarkable achievements were made possible by the leadership and support of Administrations from both parties, by strong bipartisan Congressional support, and by scientific advances in HIV prevention and treatment developed through research supported by the National Institutes of Health. These investments have made it possible to aim for the end of AIDS as a global health threat by 2030. Still, more than 2 million new HIV infections, and more than one million deaths from HIV occur every year. If our investments are to pay off, we must continue and expand the access to services PEPFAR has provided, our partnerships with affected countries, and the work to develop more effective treatments, a vaccine, and, ultimately, a cure. U.S. leadership against tuberculosis, now the world’s leading infectious disease killer, is equally vital. The curable, airborne disease took the lives of 1.8 million people in 2015, with an upsurge in resistant forms of infection that make successful treatment challenging and sometimes impossible, whether treatment is provided overseas or in the best facilities for tuberculosis here in the U.S. With fast-paced global travel and migration, this airborne disease is easily spread from person to person. Recently developed diagnostic tools, new medications and improved treatments offer hope where they are available. The U.S. has played a pivotal role in ensuring that these interventions reach those in need around the world so they are not needed here. Continued investments to develop and deploy new tools to prevent and cure tuberculosis hold the promise of relegating this deadly infection to history. U.S. support and leadership have also brought major reductions in childhood illnesses and deaths from infectious diseases that include pneumonia and malaria. Greater efforts are needed to prevent newborn illnesses and death. Our support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria continues to set the standard that unites the world in its response to three deadly diseases. In addition, U.S. strategies and resources to strengthen infection surveillance, diagnostic capacities and antibiotic drug development play a vital role in addressing antimicrobial resistance, a growing global and domestic threat that may render treatments for common infections useless, reversing many of the gains of modern medicine. U.S.-led initiatives to advance global health security are working to develop public health infrastructures, skilled health workforces and well-equipped laboratories, to ensure that countries have the capacities to monitor, prevent, detect and respond quickly to infectious disease outbreaks before they explode into national health emergencies or global pandemics threatening the health of Americans. The leadership of the United States through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the United States Agency for International Development and the Department of Defense was critical in achieving control of Ebola, and in amassing the expertise to address the threats Zika poses to pregnant women and their infants. In addition to saving the lives and restoring the productivity of millions of people around the world, our investments protect U.S. diplomats, military personnel, business travelers and tourists. Our investments in global health and the reach of our scientific and technological innovations are essential to our domestic health and prosperity, our national security and economic interests, and our stature as a force for progress. We ask that you expand all of these efforts, from increased funding for the resources and work needed to end AIDS, to empowering research and development to turn back the tide of drug-resistant infections including tuberculosis, to developing effective vaccines, and to building a legacy of innovation that will protect our nation against future infectious disease threats. We are proud of the contributions our country has made to global health and security and stand ready to work with you and your Administration as you accelerate the work needed to build a safer and healthier world. Sincerely, Alabama Bernard Camins, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Alabama at Anju Bansal, PhD, Assistant Professor, Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Louise Chow, PhD, Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Scott Barnum, PhD, Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Randy Cron, MD, PhD, Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Scott Batey, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Randall Davis, MD, Professor, University of Birmingham, Alabama Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Suresh Boppana, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Jodie Dionne-Odom, MD, Assistant Professor of University of Alabama at Birmingham, Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 2 Alexandra Duverger, PhD, Research Associate, Peter Pappas, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama Ellen Eaton, MD, Assistant Professor, James Raper, PhD, Professor of Medicine & University of Alabama at Birmingham, Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama Karen Fowler, DrPH, Professor, University of Stewart Reid, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama James Galbraith, MD, Associate Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Michael Saag, MD, Associate Dean for Global Birmingham, Alabama Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Hanne Harbison, MSPH, MSN, Lead Nurse Practitioner, University of Alabama at Omar Sims, PhD, Assistant Professor, Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Rosie Hill, PhD, Researcher, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Kristi Stringer, MA, PhD Candidate, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Craig Hoesley, MD, Professor of Medicine, Alabama University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama Jim Jian Sun, PhD, Research Associate, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Elliot Lefkowitz, PhD, Professor, University of Birmingham, Alabama Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Ashutosh Tamhane, MD, PhD, MSPH, DPH, Frances Lund, PhD, Charles H. McCauley Epidemiologist, University of Alabama at Professor and Chair Department of Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama James Tang, PhD, Professor of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, George Luo, MD, MPH, Endowed Professor, Birmingham, Alabama University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Sunnie Thompson, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH, Professor of Birmingham, Alabama Medicine & Division Chief, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Janet Turan, PhD, Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Sue Michalek, PhD, Professor of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Bulent Turan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Birmingham, Alabama University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Zina Moldoveanu, PhD, Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 3 David Vance, PhD, Professor, School of Rachel Gonzalez, MPH, Health Science Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Specialist, Department of Veterans Affairs, Birmingham, Alabama Long Beach, California Andrew Westfall, MS, Statistician, University of Shelley Gordon, MD, PhD, Infectious Diseases Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama Associates, San Francisco, California Frank Wolschendorf, PhD, Assistant Professor, Ruth Greenblatt, MD, Professor, University of University of Alabama at Birmingham, California, San Francisco, San Francisco,