The Budget Control Act of 2011 requires Congress to identify
at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reductions over the next decade. The Act
established a bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that was
charged with proposing a plan for consideration by Congress by November 23,
2011. Because a plan could not be agreed upon by the deadline, an enforcement
mechanism resulting in across-the-board reductions to both defense and
non-defense spending via sequestration is scheduled to begin in January 2013,
and to continue each year thereafter until 2021.
A proportionate cut in U.S.
Global Health Initiative (GHI) funding through sequestration would have minimal impact on deficit reduction,
representing only 0.63 percent of the total $109 billion required in deficit
reduction for fiscal year 2013. The
human impact of such cuts in U.S. investments, however, would be devastating.
If this enforcement mechanism is triggered at the projected 8.4 percent level
across the board, nearly $689 million will
be cut from global health programs and services, a reduction of nearly 10
percent from fiscal year 2012 appropriations.
This issue brief estimates the human
impact of sequestration in FY 2013 on global health programs including
HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and children’s vaccines. It also updates an
amfAR analysis released last year, providing more up-to-date estimates of
impact.
Click here to view the issue brief.