Fighting real crises

Regarding “How the Global Fund helps Houston’s health” (Opinion, July 12): The author, Connor Bowering, was correct in describing how the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria has benefited Houston and the world. President Trump’s constant mantra is “Make America Great Again!” To do that, he needs to remember that America’s greatness comes when we join with other countries in combating worldwide crises as we did 20 years ago when we joined the Global Fund in response to AIDS, which was running rampant in Africa, with no cure in sight, and threatening a worldwide epidemic.

The Global Fund has made tremendous progress in controlling both AIDS and TB, but the work is far from complete. Both AIDS and TB are deadly and highly contagious. In fact, worldwide nearly 1,000 adolescent girls and young women are infected with HIV every day. Bowering states that over 30,000 Houstonians are living with HIV/AIDS at the present time.

In October, leaders from around the world are meeting in France to pledge continued financial support for the Global Fund. In the past, the United States has always attended and played a major role in these meetings. Due to the highly infectious nature of AIDS and TB, it is essential that President Trump send a delegation with instructions to make a three-year pledge of $1.56 billion for the next three years. If he does that, he will honor his pledge to “Make America Great Again!”

David Schubert, Houston