Our ability to successfully evacuate Americans was due to the incredible men and women of the State Department and the resources provided by this budget, But experts and some on Capitol Hill say a small increase in funds doesn’t outweigh the steep proposed cuts to global health programs overall.
I’m glad that the budget request has a small boost to USAID’s global health security account—but adding $15 million more to this account, while cutting more than $3 billion in overall global health programs, is not the answer for pandemic preparedness. If there is anything the coronavirus reminds us, it’s that a global threat anywhere is a global threat everywhere.