With the approaching release of the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2011 in early February, President Obama gave a glimpse of what we might see by announcing a three-year spending freeze on discretionary federal funding. As the federal deficit continues to grow, Obama clearly has on his mind a need to address a concern that is increasingly on the minds of many Americans. But who will be most affected by any potential freezes and cuts. How will this impact those threatened by malaria?
Will this child be affected by a U.S. spending freeze?
Until the detailed budget is released and we hear more from President Obama at the State of the Union address on Wednesday, January 27, much remains to be seen about how people living with malaria will be impacted. According to the announcement made by the President, national security related budgets would not be subject to the spending freeze. A large majority of the malaria programs are included in foreign assistance accounts, which is considered a component of national security and not necessarily subject to the freeze.
However, with growing foreign assistance demands related to Afghanistan and Pakistan, the accounts that provide critical funding for U.S. malaria programs are certainly going to be subject to pressure and may be at risk. The President’s announcement certainly lends itself to a challenging scenario, with the potential for flat funding or minimal increases for malaria. Efforts to fulfill a U.S. promise made a year and a half ago to provide $5 billion over five years to save lives from malaria just got harder.
With a country already exposed to a range of diseases and lacking good health infrastructure before the quake, an event like this can lead to an outbreak of many diseases including cholera, measles and malaria. Lack of access to clean water, exposure to the elements, and inability to find food or medical care can result in the rapid spread of diseases. As for malaria — which was a threat for Haitians before the earthquake – the risk of infection is increased when people are sleeping in the streets and can’t get medication once they become sick.
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