Write a Letter to Your Elected Official
Your elected officials needs to hear from you. They depend on you to educate them about what is happening and what issues are most important to their constituents. If you do not tell them about the severity of the tuberculosis epidemic and how to combat it, there’s a very good chance they will never hear about it at all. Writing a letter and making a follow-up phone call only takes a few minutes of your time, but it can make a huge difference.
There are five parts of any good letter.
ONE: Engage
Dear ________,
I’m writing to tell you about the need for increased funding in 2008 for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. To date, the Global Fund has saved 1.8 million lives, with 3,000 additional lives saved every day. Thanks to Global Fund contributions to health programs, over 1 million HIV-positive people are now on life-extending antiretroviral treatment (ARVs), 2.8 million TB patients are receiving the highly-effective DOTS treatment, and 30 million insecticide-treated bednets have been distributed to prevent malaria. Despite this proven success, I am concerned that the US will not fully fund the Global Fund in 2008.
TWO: State the Problem
I am happy that the president has stated his commitment to improving global health. However, the president only included $300 million for the Global Fund in his FY08 budget; this amount is $1 billion less than the US fair share contribution of $1.3 billion and less than half of what Congress contributed to the Global Fund in 2007 through the Continuing Resolution. By not contributing our fair share of the money the Global Fund needs in 2008, the momentum the Global Fund has built in halting and reversing the spread of these three killer diseases may be jeopardized. Under-funding the Global Fund undermines all of the money the US is spending on our own bilateral global health programs, such as the president’s AIDS Initiative, PEPFAR, because the Global Fund is an important complement to our own global health efforts. The Global Fund provides two-thirds of external funding for TB control globally — TB is a disease that takes the lives of nearly 2 million people each year and is the number one killer of people with AIDS.
THREE: Inform about the Solution
The Global Fund has made inspiring progress in only five years and is an effective and responsible global health funding mechanism. To continue to save lives and reverse these diseases, the US must contribute $1.3 billion, which is our one-third fair-share contribution for 2008. This money will help leverage increased contributions from other donor countries and ensure the Global Fund can continue to renew and expand its grants in poor countries.
FOUR: Call to Action
Please help us fully fund the Fund and consider attending the hearing on March 20 at 3:00pm about the Global Fund for more information. The details of the hearing are attached in this letter.
FIVE: Contact Information
Sincerely,
Be sure to include all your contact information so that your elected official’s office can write back.
