Massive cut to AIDS funding

President Obama's global health initiative, unveiled Tuesday, essentially amounts to a $6.6 billion cut to the already-approved funding level for AIDS programs ["Obama administration seeks $63B for world health," seattletimes.com, Politics & Government, May 5].

In countries most dramatically affected by the epidemic, it will mean that newly diagnosed HIV patients will not be able to get care, and that patients whose drug regimens fail will die rather than getting second or third-line treatments.

Then-Sen. Obama promised a level of sustained funding for AIDS and other global-health programs that would've had us on track to keep our commitment to universal treatment for everyone with AIDS.

During the two years I spent working in Mozambique, I saw the deep gratitude of Africans across the continent toward the people of the U.S. for their commitment and solidarity. The repercussions of this broken promise could reverberate for years, potentially wiping out many of the hard-won gains of the past five years.

-- Wendy Johnson, MD, Health Alliance International, Seattle