Today, former President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss the United States’ commitment to global health. Recognized for their profound leadership in the field, each shared from personal experience the advances they have seen over the last 10 years in drug cost reductions, vaccine development, and treatment delivery and urged the Congress to continue funding these efforts.
They praised the work of previous administrations in targeting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis and applauded the new Global Health Initiative (GHI) announced by President Obama last year that would develop greater integration in the delivery of healthcare in developing countries—particularly for women and children. President Clinton noted that infrastructure development will be a key component in moving the global health agenda forward, along with raising awareness among the American people of the important role global health plays in U.S. foreign policy. Although, neglected tropical diseases were not mentioned specifically, they are listed as a target in GHI.
Overall, the hearing was positive step in demonstrating that bi-partisanship still does exist in a few spots on Capitol Hill and with the right amount of persuasion and energy global health interventions cannot only transform a community, but save lives.
Watch the hearing here
