Thank you for William Cosgrove’s column on the vital need for the U.S. to support the Global Fund, in order to reduce the personal and economic toll of tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS. The worst-hit areas are in the developing world; these countries do not have the resources to combat these devastating diseases on their own, and it is appalling that the president is trying to undermine years of progress and slash the U.S. contribution.
However, this being Pride Month, it is also important to note that more needs to be done to combat AIDS in this country, where it is still very much a threat despite huge advances in treatment. One major step would be to control the obscene markups by Big Pharma. For example, one drug that can protect people from infection, Truvada, is available in Australia for 25 cents a day — so why does it cost $60 per day in the United States?
Of course, this has always been a problem with the bloated for-profit U.S. health sector (when I used to travel frequently to countries where malaria is endemic, I would collect my medication in transit, in the U.K., where in those days it cost $7, not $70). It is high time for Congress to take serious steps to control drug costs, by limiting patents, encouraging generics, and allowing imports.
Richard Middleton, Salt Lake City
