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New Congress, renewed administration

January 23rd, 2013


Heather Ignatius, a senior policy and advocacy officer with PATH’s Advocacy and Public Policy team in Washington, DC, recently wrote about her thoughts on global health and development priorities for the second-term Obama administration and the 113th Congress. Thanks to PATH for allowing us to share her piece.

As President Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term yesterday, I wondered: will he return to the idealism of his early presidency? Or will the nation’s challenging fiscal and political climate dampen his aspirations for improving the health of people in impoverished countries?

Four years ago, I was optimistic that nearly a decade of strong bipartisan support for global health programs would continue. President Obama came out of the gate fast, launching the Global Health Initiative (GHI) within months of his inauguration. The GHI made some notable progress. It encouraged planning led by the countries it was formed to help, improved the health status of women and girls, and promoted changes to integrate health programs and strengthen capacity within those countries.

Outgoing secretary of state Hillary Clinton emphasized support for women and girls. Photo: PATH/Mike Wang.

But Congress has paid out only a little more than half of the funds needed to achieve the program’s bold goals. This has forced the administration to lower its targets, jeopardizing the future of global health programming and overall health gains. » Read more: New Congress, renewed administration

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Posted in Global Development, Global Health, Obama Administration, Politics, U.S Government

Innovation to Fund Global Health

January 8th, 2013

Last Friday, The Hill’s Congress Blog highlighted the innovative ways governments, NGO’s and the private sector are using to aid for global health. Programs like the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria are not only ensuring that health interventions are getting to the people that need them most, they are helping to promote market growth and drive down prices.

Here’s an excerpt on public-private partnerships from the blog:

“Millions of lives are saved today in developing countries because of bold, innovative financing arrangements over last 10 years. These financing mechanisms are good examples of private sector partnership with public sector for common good.

These financing initiatives have pooled large public sector funding with private sector resources, thus allowing tax payers funds to have much larger impact than would otherwise be possible. Some of the examples are given below.”

USAID’s Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Program is one such collaboration. In a press statement released last fall, Dr. Ariel Pablos-Mendez, Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Global Health Bureau, states:

“To date, USAID’s NTD program is the largest public-private partnership collaboration in our 50 year history. Over the past six years, USAID has leveraged over $3 billion in donated medicines reflecting one of the most cost effective public health programs. Because of this support, we are beginning to document control and elimination of these diseases in our focus countries and we are on track to meet the 2020 goals.”

To read more about NTDs in national and international public policy, visit the policy section at www.globalnetwork.org.

You can also read about how Sabin in helping countries create sustainable access to immunization financing here.

 

 

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Posted in NTDs, policy, Politics, U.S Government, vaccines

This Week: Tweet with USAID, NTD Partners to Celebrate Success in NTD Control

September 17th, 2012

To increase awareness and honor the accomplishments achieved in controlling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), USAID and more than 40 other partners representing non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, global health and civil society groups and pharmaceutical companies will host a week-long Twitter event.

You can follow or participate in the Twitter conversation by using the hashtag #fightNTDs.

 

 

All of the buzz on Twitter will lead up to a celebratory event hosted by USAID and their partners, which will take place on Capitol Hill on September 19th.  The same day, USAID and several organizations will also host a Twitter chat, beginning at 10:00am EST.

We hope you’ll join us in spreading the word and celebrating successes so far in the work to control and eliminate NTDs. To follow the Global Network or our END7 Campaign on Twitter, use the buttons below!

 

 

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Posted in END7, Global Health, U.S Government

U.S. Leadership in Global Health

October 13th, 2011

By: Linda Diep

On Tuesday, I attended a panel discussion hosted by the TCU Schieffer School of Journalism and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Entitled “U.S. Leadership in Global Health,” the event was moderated by Bob Schieffer, Chief Washington Correspondent for CBS news, and anchor for “Face of the Nation.” Panelists included the following:

The discussion kicked off with talk about U.S. foreign assistance. In 2003, the U.S. spent $1.7 billion on global health, increasing to $8.8 billion in 2010. These figures may be staggering, however, this funding only accounts for 1% of our overall spending. Thomas Frieden of the CDC emphasizes that this aid is important due to globalization – we are interconnected with other nations and it is in our best interest to address the diseases of the developing world even if they don’t currently affect us. Representative Kay Granger goes on to say that America is a caring country, and we are willing to provide help where it is needed. » Read more: U.S. Leadership in Global Health

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Posted in Global Health, Non-communicable diseases, U.S Government

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