CONTACT: Adam Ortega, adam.ortega@treatmentactiongroup.org
March 18, 2026, NEW YORK, NY — Treatment Action Group (TAG) condemns the United States’ war in Iran and neighboring countries. At a time when U.S. investment in public health is being slashed, the Trump administration has chosen to spend billions of dollars per day on weapons[1] used in a war of choice for which no credible rationale has been proposed. Our government should be investing in our communities, spending funds that were already appropriated and illegally impounded by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to keep people healthy, instead of starting new wars that put the entire world’s health at risk.
War is profoundly antithetical to public health. It causes widespread population-level physical debilitation and death and undermines care for people living with chronic illnesses. It is disproportionately detrimental to the fight against infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and hepatitis C (HCV).
In the first year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, incidence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) nearly doubled in Central Ukraine (an area with some of the highest rates of internally displaced persons) and overall TB incidence sharply increased nationwide.[2] As hospitals and clinics were damaged and displaced populations struggled to access care, clinicians reported widespread interruptions in TB treatment and care, some of the leading drivers of drug resistance and TB mortality.[3] The impact extended beyond Ukraine’s borders. Poland’s MDR-TB incidence also doubled in the first year of the war, largely due to the country’s rapid absorption of Ukrainian refugees.[4] This effect of war on communicable diseases has been observed globally with innumerable pathogens.[5] When infrastructure is destabilized and people are displaced, illness and disease thrive.[6]
“After a year of destroying our federal health and research infrastructure, this administration is now setting its sights on destruction of another kind,” said Mark Harrington, executive director at TAG. “We are so close to having the innovative tools necessary to save lives, but this administration has made it clear that it prefers to kill people at home and abroad rather than invest in life-saving research and health programs. Instead of saving lives, they are taking them.”
Despite the president’s promise of “no new wars”, the U.S. finds itself sinking deeper into a violent quagmire with every passing day. The White House is seeking an additional $650 billion in the Pentagon’s budget, raising it to $1.5 trillion.[7] This out-of-control spending on armed forces domestically and internationally shows no signs of stopping, as evidenced by previous military actions in Venezuela and various U.S. cities and Trump’s stated intent to target Cuba next.[8]
As we lose countless lives to conflict and destruction, and our military budget gets increasingly bloated, our families and communities continue reckoning with diminishing health care resources and destroyed research and public health infrastructure. The additional $650 billion in military spending that this White House seeks is close to the $665 billion that state Medicaid programs will lose as a result of H.R.1: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the current regime’s signature piece of legislation.[9] Moreover, the Congressional Budget Office projects that a similar sum could be saved through passage of Medicare for All.[10] On a global scale, it is over 18 times larger than the most recent operating budget of USAID before its demolition by this administration.[11] This is no coincidence — this administration is consciously choosing to invest in needless wars rather than lifesaving health services at home and abroad.
TAG U.S. and Global Health Policy Director Elizabeth Lovinger said, “We urge legislators to reject the administration’s requests for increased military spending and continue pushing for a War Powers Resolution to restrict military activities without Congressional approval. We urge Congress to retake its constitutionally mandated powers of the purse, ensuring that appropriated U.S. health funds are fully spent, and direct additional resources to critically important domestic and global health initiatives. Rather than choosing death and destruction, we choose lifesaving health care and research.”
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About TAG
Treatment Action Group (TAG) is an independent, activist and community-based research and policy think tank fighting for better treatment, prevention, a vaccine, and a cure for HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C virus. TAG works to ensure that all people with HIV, TB, and HCV receive lifesaving treatment, care, and information. We are science-based treatment activists working to expand and accelerate vital research and effective community engagement with research and policy institutions.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/opinion/trump-iran-venezuela-cuba.html
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-01723-7
[3] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(22)00214-6/fulltext
[4] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11724529/
[5] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11698113/
[6] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11000310/
[7] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy59kxl2xwzo
[8] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/opinion/trump-iran-venezuela-cuba.html
[9] https://stateline.org/2026/03/04/state-medicaid-budgets-will-decline-by-665-billion-under-new-federal-law-report-finds/
[10] https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-02/57637-Single-Payer-Systems.pdf
[11] https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10261