In classic Washington form, we have averted the “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 2 only by kicking the can down the road and delaying budget sequestration until the beginning of March. This is not a real solution. In 2011, there were 34 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, only 8 million of whom were receiving anti-retroviral therapy. Looming threats of U.S. budget sequestration, the automatic spending cuts associated with the “fiscal cliff,” would deny 165,400 people HIV/AIDS treatment and inflict 37,700 AIDS-related deaths globally. With 31,000 students, that is just more than the student body of Iowa State.

To avoid this tragedy, the U.S. government must keep the current global health funding for the 2013 fiscal year, maintaining the House of Representatives funding level for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at $4.242 billion and the Senate funding level for the Global Fund at $1.65 billion. To maintain momentum in achieving an AIDS-free generation, the budget for the 2014 fiscal year must expand PEPFAR’s funding to $5.027 billion.

On the heels of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s announcement of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s new blueprint for an AIDS-free generation, the global health community is coming together to rally behind an exciting new reality: the end of AIDS. On Dec. 1, 2011, President Barack Obama proclaimed, “Few could have imagined that we’d be talking about the real possibility of an AIDS-free generation. But that’s what we’re talking about … make no mistake, we are going to win this fight.” In his 2013 State of the Union address, he reiterated the goal of “an AIDS-free generation.” The promise has been made, the groundwork has been laid, and policy mechanisms are now in motion on a global scale. We must capitalize on this momentum. We must fund PEPFAR and the Global Fund. We must END AIDS.