Now that the 2012 election cycle is over and the dust has settled, Congress and the rest of Washington have boxed up the campaign posters, shut down field offices and facilitated the last conference calls with donors. But we, as a nation, face an extremely critical fork in the road.

With the so-called fiscal cliff looming a mere 36 days away, a partisan Congress has drawn the skirmish lines, dug in and hunkered down for a budget battle of the ages. In 2011, Congress passed legislation (the Budget Control Act) that requires $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over the next 10 years, if Congress does not reach a debt-reduction deal by Dec. 23. On Jan. 2, 2013, the U.S. government will go over the “cliff”, and automatic spending cuts will be applied to all aspects of the government budget, in the form of sequestration of parts of the budget. It is estimated that sequestration will result in an 8.4 percent cut in federal spending across the board. This will have a devastating impact on global health funding, but specifically to HIV/AIDS initiatives.

How will sequestration affect global HIV/AIDS programs? Global health programs will see a cut of nearly $689 million in the first year, which is a reduction of nearly 10 percent from the fiscal year 2012 budget. More than 350,000 people will be denied AIDS treatment, and more than 62,000 people will die of AIDS who would have otherwise survived; 122,000 children will be orphaned, 111,000 fewer HIV-positive pregnant women will receive treatment to prevent transmission to their newborns and 21,000 more infants will be infected with HIV.

How will sequestration affect domestic AIDS programs? Domestic HIV/AIDS programs will receive budget cuts of $538 million in the first year; 9,400 patients receiving treatment through the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) could lose access to their medication with a $77 million cut to ADAP; 5,000 households will be affected by the $27 million cut from the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS Program; and 400 people living with HIV will not be diagnosed because of a $65.2 million cut to HIV prevention services.

Global health spending has to be preserved. We are too close to the tipping point of creating an AIDS-free generation. A budget that cuts global health must be a deal-breaker. An 8.4 percent cut to global health programs would have devastating affects in the target communities while, at the same time, providing a 0.6 percent decrease to our budget deficit. With our international assistance programs as a percent of federal spending dropping from 2.75 percent in 1965 to less than 0.5 percent in 2010 and our defense spending increasing three percent in 2012 to $1.030-$1.414 trillion, we need to seriously reassess our priorities.

If the United Kingdom was able to ring-fence global health in their austerity budget, the United States has the means to preserve these programs and save these lives. As Iowans, we have an especially crucial position as Sen. Tom Harkin is on the appropriations sub-committee of Labor, Health, Human Services and Education, allocating funds to both global and domestic health programs. Call your Congressman/woman and let them know you care by writing a letter to your hometown newspaper urging for no budget cuts to touch global health initiatives, or schedule a lobby visit with your state representative. Even here on campus you can join with the ISU Global Health & AIDS Coalition ([email protected]) in advocating for global health initiatives. We have the ability to End AIDS Now.

Act up.