The following is a piece written by Tommy Thompson and Mark Green on foreign aid and global health:

A New Paradigm for Foreign Assistance 

Together, we’ve served in the Executive Branch, in Congress, in state government and as an ambassador.  We loved our lives in public service, but we certainly don’t envy those in government today.  The global economic crisis has made smart decision making even more critical, but also incredibly more difficult. 

While most of our government’s attention is rightfully focused on improving our economy, we must not lose sight of our obligation as a world leader to help those individuals and countries where unimaginable poverty, debilitating hunger and wretched  diseases have a stranglehold on billions of lives and even national economies. Our work to eliminate devastating global infectious scourges, such as malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that have stalked humans for centuries, saves lives and improves economic prospects for families who live on pennies a day. 

On behalf of the American people, the United States has taken extraordinary action to fight global disease and poverty. We are witness to monumental results as malaria rates plummet across sub-Saharan Africa where the disease steals nearly a million lives of expectant mothers and young children each year.  Yet, the economic challenges facing our nation and the world can threaten to put this progress at risk – at a time when pulling back and weakening foreign assistance efforts could have enormous economic, social and even national security consequences. 

So, what do our elected officials do?  Even in frightening economic times, we cannot turn our back on global disease and suffocating poverty.  We can find greater efficiencies in global health to maximize U.S. investments and get the biggest bang from our global health buck. 

Those of us in the global health field are accurately aware that we cannot fight one disease at a time.  It’s economically unsustainable and, ultimately, an ineffective solution.  We must look for ways to increase efficiencies across the global health spectrum.  For example, U.S. global malaria efforts distribute mosquito nets to pregnant women during antenatal visits and to families when children receive vaccinations against measles or polio. NTDs, particularly intestinal worm infections, and malaria commonly cause anemia, which afflicts more than half of all children and pregnant women and is a primary cause of death and disability in the developing world. Anemia also exerts a devastating effect on childhood development and cognition, as well as worker productivity.  The geographic overlap of malaria and NTDs facilitates sharing of health care expertise, treatments, and distribution mechanisms. 

According to a recent World Health Organization study, integrated interventions doubled the coverage rate for malaria treatment and bednet usage when combined with treatment for NTDs.  Equally important, NTD drugs and deworming in pregnancy has been shown to improve anemia, reduce maternal mortality and increase perinatal birthweights. 

Therefore, we must add bednets to community drug distribution days for NTDs, and combine deworming and other interventions to routine malaria prevention treatments given to pregnant women. Combining approaches to control these infections is simple, effective and highly affordable. In terms of economic impact, combining NTD treatment with current malaria control efforts significantly reduces anemia-caused morbidity and mortality for less than a 10% add-on cost.

As Congress and the Obama Administration search for ways to live up to our foreign assistance commitments in these challenging economic times, we urge them not to take the easy way out and simply delay investments.  At a time when we are trying to rebuild our international standing and revitalize economies across the globe, we cannot afford to neglect those who need our help the most.  By rolling up our sleeves and placing emphasis on how to achieve real efficiencies in global health instead of pitting one disease against another, we can create a new and highly effective paradigm to reduce global poverty and save lives.   

Tommy G. Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is a partner at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP and Chairman of AGA Medical Corporation. He currently serves as an ambassador for the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Disease.

Mark Green served as Ambassador to Tanzania from 2007 to 2009 and is a former congressman from Green Bay. He now directs the Malaria Policy Center in Washington, DC

Tags: congress, foreign aid, Global Health, mark green, tommy thompson

Tags: congress, foreign aid, Global Health, mark green, tommy thompson
Categories:Domestic Political Action, Global Health Community