Tommy G. Thompson, former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and former Governor of Wisconsin (1987-2001) spoke out about global health as a key lever in foreign policy on Wednesday in an editorial published by the Huffington Post. Secretary Thompson acknowledges the difficult foreign policy issues facing the 112th Congress and offers up a solution: use health diplomacy to improve international health conditions in order to bolster the U.S. economy and strengthen foreign policy.
He states that health diplomacy involves “winning the hearts and minds of those abroad by strategically exporting medical care and humanitarian aid, building in-country capacity, and providing health education, training and personnel.” By using this deliberately the U.S. can engage in measures to reduce terrorism, increase the number of productive workers, and ultimately “secure our nation’s future and build a strong, stable global community.”
Drawing on his experience, he says: “Health diplomacy must be institutionalized as a critical component of U.S. diplomatic, defense and foreign policy. Global health is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. It’s not even exclusively an American issue. It is the moral responsibility and strategic concern of every freedom-loving citizen of the world.”
Governor Thompson has been a Global Network Ambassador since 2008 and a vital voice for NTDs. In August 2008 he traveled throughout Rwanda and joined the Rwandan Ministry of Health in launching their first-ever national deworming campaign. Yesterday’s post follows a 2009 editorial co-authored with Dr. Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute in which they examine NTD control as a means of U.S. foreign policy.
