Since 2003, US leadership has been the defining force in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. At the height of the crisis, death tolls reached into the millions and healthcare systems collapsed under the weight of overwhelming need. President Festus Mogae of Botswana even warned that his nation faced extinction. American intervention turned the tide.

That legacy is now at risk. Failure to include robust funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in the FY2027 appropriations package would jeopardize decades of progress. The moment is too consequential — and the human cost of inaction too severe — for partisan considerations to prevail.

Sen. Patty Murray has been key in supporting PEPFAR and global healthcare funding throughout her time in the Senate, and it brings me strength to know that she is one of the leaders making this decision there. Her wisdom is rooted in her faith, and I find peace in the fact that she understands passing this funding isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s the righteous thing to do. 

PEPFAR has been a tremendous success, but we mustn’t forget the critical impact that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and Gavi have had on healthcare in Africa. Since 2002, the Global Fund has helped to save more than 70 million lives from malaria, TB, and AIDS — ailments that historically impact the poorest people the hardest. Gavi has vaccinated more than 1.1 billion children, primarily in developing countries. 

If the US doesn’t continue supporting funding for this program in the FY2027 appropriations package, millions of children could die from preventable diseases. We must see these funds as more than dollar signs on a budget page and take them for what they actually are: true lifelines for millions of the world’s most vulnerable. As is said in Psalm 41:1, “Blessed is the one who cares for the poor.”  

It’s worth noting that the success of these programs owes much to the indispensable role of faith-based organizations, whose partnership has been central to their reach and impact. These implementation partners across the continent have been integral in ensuring that the medicine and medical supplies that are needed are brought to the communities where they will have the most impact. The clergy are often the most trusted members of the community, so they are able to get the treatment and supplies to the patients who need it. 

It would be an act of profound cruelty to suddenly halt or severely cut the programs supporting these people: kids who need vaccines, parents depending on AIDS treatment, and families who can’t afford to get the medicines they need. Our lord calls upon us to treat them with dignity and respect and to use every tool at our disposal to ease their suffering. 

Since 2003, the United States has been a steadfast supporter of these global health programs, and I am hopeful Sen. Murray will continue championing these causes. I urge her to use her position as vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee to ensure robust funding in the fiscal year 2027 appropriations package for PEPFAR, the Global Fund, and Gavi. Sen. Murray has been one of Washington’s strongest leaders, and now is the time to demonstrate that leadership by refusing to let political headwinds extinguish the light of American compassion around the world. 

Rev. Stephen Crippen is rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, a former marriage and family therapist, and author of Remorse: Finding Joy Through Honest Apology.