On Saturday, February 19, the House of Representatives voted to make huge cuts in this year's budget. Poverty-fighting, cost-effective programs - which make up less than one percent of the US budget - were sharply cut.  In particular, key programs that fight AIDS, malaria and hunger in poor countries were cut by 40%.  Prof Mugyenyi will talk from personal experience as a leading Ugandan physician about how he has been able to save thousands of patients' lives through receiving US foreign aid to fight AIDS and detail the potentially devastating humanitarian impact of the proposed cuts.

Speaker Bio:

Professor Peter Mugyenyi is widely recognized as being a leading HIV/AIDS clinician and advocate for the sustainable provision of adequate funds to provide universal access to
anti-retroviral drugs.  He is a paediatrician, HIV specialist and the Director and Founder of the Ugandan Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC).  JCRC was the first entity providing anti-retroviral drugs to people living with HIV in Uganda.  Mugyenyi was a critical advocate for the creation of the Presidents' Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and JRCR has been a significant beneficiary of funds from PEPFAR.  Prof Mugyenyi is also on the board of Massachusetts General Hospital.