Global Health Is (Local) Public Health

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Global Health Is (Local) Public Health Global Health Is (Local) Public Health Margaret E. Bentley, Gretchen Van Vliet n a world where nations and economies are increasingly work together in unique and innovative ways to address crit- Iinterdependent—whether through the continuing global- ical issues in global health and to shape the next generation ization of the economy, ongoing demographic changes, or of global health leaders across the campus. In this article, the rapidly rising costs of health care in various countries— we provide several examples of UNC–Chapel Hill’s research illness in any population affects all people. The health of the and education, to illustrate why global health is local health. world’s population has become increasingly interconnected Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene because disease does not recognize borders. As Brown and colleagues [1p62] remarked, “‘Global health,’ in general, UNC–Chapel Hill has a strong reputation in water implies consideration of the health needs of the people of research, both domestically and internationally. Starting the whole planet above concerns of particular nations.” in the 1950s, faculty at UNC’s school of public health have In a recent article titled “Global Health Is Public Health,” worked in North Carolina and worldwide on water issues. several deans of top-tier schools of public health, including The first major international effort outside of the United the University of North Carolina (UNC) Gillings School of States was led by Daniel Okun, who established a sanitary Global Public Health, asserted that “public health schools engineering program in Lima, Peru, in the 1950s [4]. Projects remain at the forefront of efforts to educate global health based outside of North Carolina helped faculty at the school experts who are prepared to confront the global burden of of public health realize “its commitment to better the health disease” [2p536]. The title of the article reflects the philoso- of all the world’s peoples” [4p84]. Today, there are over phy of UNC’s school of public health that global health and 20 faculty members in the Department of Environmental public health are indistinguishable and that global health is Sciences and Engineering who have expertise in water, also local health. sanitation, and/or hygiene. Under the leadership of Dean The school of public health at UNC–Chapel Hill officially Barbara Rimer, the school of public heath has made water became the Gillings School of Global Public Health in Fall a strategic priority at UNC–Chapel Hill, including the estab- 2008 in recognition that, even at a public, state institution, all lishment of a new UNC Water Institute, led by renowned health is global. Initiatives undertaken since the name change global water expert Jamie Bartram. The Water Institute will have attempted to redefine public health education, includ- coordinate water research and programs at the school of ing ensuring that all public health students understand how public health, at UNC–Chapel Hill, and across the state to domestic and international problems and their solutions make access to clean drinking water a reality for millions of are interconnected and require collaborative, interdisciplin- people worldwide. ary teamwork. In a 2004 review of UNC’s school of public Engineers Without Borders (EWB). The Daniel A. Okun health, the Association of International Educators noted that Chapter of EWB, located at UNC–Chapel Hill, is particu- “global health is integrated across departments, programs, larly strong. This group of dedicated students from depart- and centers and emphasizes the linkages between problems ments across the campus is involved in projects to improve and solutions in developing countries and in industrialized, community water systems at the local level in areas such as Western settings” [3p58]. This allows for an interdisciplin- Moldova, Peru, as well as in their own community of Chapel ary approach to the study and teaching of both local and Hill. global health. The partnership between EWB and the Rogers Road UNC–Chapel Hill has made “internationalization” and community, a historically black neighborhood in Chapel Hill, global health a priority, leading to the 2007 establish- began in January 2009, when the community sought help ment of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious from EWB to identify issues about possible contamination Diseases, directed by Myron S. Cohen, the J. Herbert Bate related to the nearby local landfill. Since then, EWB students Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Microbiology, and have administered surveys to assess household water and Public Health. This institute fosters an environment in which sewer infrastructure and have tested the quality of com- faculty, students, and the broader university community munity drinking and surface water [5]. The Orange County Margaret E. Bentley, PhD, associate dean for global health and professor of nutrition, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She can be reached at [email protected]. Gretchen Van Vliet, MPH, director, Office of Global Health, and adjunct assistant professor, Public Health Leadership Program, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. 448 N C Med J. September/October 2010, Volume 71, Number 5 Health Department also tested the water and found that 9 health has particular strengths in human immunodeficiency of 11 wells were below US Environmental Protection Agency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome standards for water quality. EWB’s ongoing efforts in this (AIDS) research worldwide. Infectious diseases epidemiolo- community include analyzing the results of water tests; gists work to improve surveillance, identify newly emerging studying odor, air quality, and health; engaging in a con- infections, understand transmission dynamics, and develop tinuing dialogue with local, state, and federal governments and evaluate prevention and control strategies. to convey concerns about the environment; and organizing Infectious diseases experts from public health and medi- service projects to clean up the environment and improve cine programs at UNC–Chapel Hill are addressing the HIV living conditions. epidemic through research and clinical treatment via proj- In addition to its efforts in the Rogers Road community, ects underway in North Carolina and in regions such as Africa the Daniel A. Okun chapter has been working in Moldova as and Asia. In 2005, UNC–Chapel Hill researchers published part of the National Guard State Partnership Program that a groundbreaking article that demonstrated a new method formally links North Carolina and Moldova. This summer, a to rapidly diagnose acute HIV infection among HIV-positive group of students from the Department of Environmental individuals living in North Carolina [6]. Identification of HIV Sciences and Engineering and the Department of Health infection at the acute stage is key because HIV transmis- Behavior and Health Education will return to Moldova to sion is most likely during this period. This new test was then provide hygiene education to 2 schools in Moldova that is assessed for efficacy in Lilongwe, Malawi, and it is currently based on results of surveys students conducted on water being adapted for use in sub-Saharan Africa [7]. and sanitation during the past 2 summers. In January 2008, The UNC Project–Malawi, based in the capital city of former US Ambassador to Moldova Michael Kirby and cur- Lilongwe, has a mission to “identify innovative, culturally rent North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall asked acceptable and relatively inexpensive methods of reducing UNC’s school of public health to join the partnership to pro- the risk of HIV and [sexually transmitted disease] trans- vide guidance in public health–related matters. The EWB mission through research; strengthen the local research project is just one of several initiatives that resulted from capacity through training and technology transfers; and to this original request. improve patient care for people living with HIV and AIDS” Point-of-use water filters. Mark Sobsey, professor of [8]. Faculty from the UNC School of Medicine and UNC’s environmental sciences and engineering, is internationally school of public health address issues ranging from mother- renowned for his research, teaching, and service in water, to-child transmission of HIV to HIV transmission as it relates sanitation, and hygiene, with an emphasis on microbiol- to nutrition and breastfeeding. ogy and virology. His research has addressed domestic and HIV infection in North Carolina’s African American popu- international water issues, ranging from swine wastewa- lation. Disparities in the prevalence of HIV infection and ter in North Carolina and the southeastern United States AIDS in the United States are well-known and well-docu- to safe storage of drinking water in developing countries. mented. Ada Adimora, an associate professor of medicine Sobsey’s work on sustainable point-of-use water filtration who has an adjunct appointment in the Department of systems has lead to the WaterSHED initiative, funded by the Epidemiology at UNC’s school of public health, participated US Agency for International Development. This is a public- in a 2009 meeting at the White House with the Office of private partnership designed to bring effective, affordable National AIDS Policy and the Council on Women and Girls water and sanitation products to market in Cambodia, Laos, that addressed the disparate rates of HIV infection and and Vietnam. AIDS among the African-American population in the
Recommended publications
  • A History of Global Health
    PART I Colonial Entanglements On November 15, 1932, representatives from several African colonial territories, British India, the League of Nations Health Organization, and the Rockefeller Foundation met in Cape Town, South Africa. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss questions relating to public-health administration and protection against epidemic diseases. Much of the conference focused on the problem of yellow fever. Growing concerns about the potential spread of yellow fever from its endemic locations in Latin America and west central Africa into other African colonial territories, and from there to South Asia, provided the background for these discussions. A map labeled “African Air Routes, 1932” accompanied the conference report.1 This map showed the routes of European airlines crisscrossing the continent and connecting Africa to the wider world. It was intended to illustrate that advances in air travel, which were bringing various parts of the world into closer contact with one another, were also creating pathways along which pathogens—specifically, yellow fever—could travel. The British, who had established colonies from Egypt to South Africa at the end of the nineteenth century, feared that yellow fever could be transported from West Africa to its colonies elsewhere in Africa, and from there to the jewel of its colonial empire in India, where the deadly disease had never been identified but the mosquitoes that transmitted it existed. The impact of this eastward spread of yellow fever would be devastating. The League of Nations Health Organization, which had been established after World War I as part of an effort to prevent future wars by ensuring the health and well-being of the world’s populations, viewed the conference as an opportunity to expand its influence into the colonial world.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Governance, International Health Law and WHO: Looking Towards the Future Allyn L
    Global governance, international health law and WHO: looking towards the future Allyn L. Taylor1 Abstract The evolving domain of international health law encompasses increasingly diverse and complex concerns. Commentators agree that health development in the twenty-first century is likely to expand the use of conventional international law to create a framework for coordination and cooperation among states in an increasingly interdependent world. This article examines the forces and factors behind the emerging expansion of conventional international health law as an important tool for present and future multilateral cooperation. It considers challenges to effective international health cooperation posed for intergovernmental organizations and other actors involved in lawmaking. Although full consolidation of all aspects of future international health lawmaking under the auspices of a single international organization is unworkable and undesirable, the World Health Organization (WHO) should endeavour to serve as a coordinator, catalyst and, where appropriate, platform for future health law codification. Such leadership by WHO could enhance coordination, coherence and implementation of international health law policy. Keywords Treaties; International law; Legislation, Health; World health; International cooperation; Intersectoral cooperation; World Health Organization (source: MeSH, NLM). Mots cle´s Traite´ s; Droit international; Le´gislation sanitaire; Sante´ mondiale; Coope´ration internationale; Coope´ration intersectorielle; Organisation mondiale de la Sante´(source: MeSH, INSERM). Palabras clave Tratados; Derecho internacional; Legislacio´ n sanitaria; Salud mundial; Cooperacio´ n internacional; Cooperacio´n intersectorial; Organizacio´ n Mundial de la Salud (fuente: DeCS, BIREME). Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2002;80:975-980. Voir page 979 le re´sume´ en franc¸ais. En la pa´ gina 980 figura un resumen en espan˜ ol.
    [Show full text]
  • Global SDG Baseline for WASH in Health Care Facilities Practical Steps to Achieve Universal WASH in Health Care Facilities
    Global SDG baseline for WASH in health care facilities Practical steps to achieve universal WASH in health care facilities Questions and Answers What is meant by WASH in health care facilities? The term “WASH in health care facilities” refers to the provision of water, sanitation, health care waste, hygiene and environmental cleaning infrastructure and services across all parts of a facility. “Health care facilities” encompass all formally-recognized facilities that provide health care, including primary (health posts and clinics), secondary, and tertiary (district or national hospitals), public and private (including faith-run), and temporary structures designed for emergency contexts (e.g., cholera treatment centers). They may be located in urban or rural areas. Why is WASH in health care facilities so important? WASH services are fundamental to providing quality care. Without such services, health goals, especially those for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance and preventing and containing disease outbreaks will be not met. WASH is also critical to the experience of care. Services such as functional and accessible toilets with menstrual hygiene facilities and safe drinking-water support patient and staff dignity and fulfill basic human rights. With a renewed focus on primary health care services through the Astana Declaration and a renewed focus on preventing early childhood deaths through the Every Child Alive Campaign the opportunity to address WASH in health systems strengthening has never been greater. What are the current global estimates for WASH in health care facilities? The WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) 2019 SDG baseline report establishes national, regional and global baseline estimates that contribute towards global monitoring of SDG 6, universal access to WASH.
    [Show full text]
  • Globalization and Infectious Diseases: a Review of the Linkages
    TDR/STR/SEB/ST/04.2 SPECIAL TOPICS NO.3 Globalization and infectious diseases: A review of the linkages Social, Economic and Behavioural (SEB) Research UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) The "Special Topics in Social, Economic and Behavioural (SEB) Research" series are peer-reviewed publications commissioned by the TDR Steering Committee for Social, Economic and Behavioural Research. For further information please contact: Dr Johannes Sommerfeld Manager Steering Committee for Social, Economic and Behavioural Research (SEB) UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) World Health Organization 20, Avenue Appia CH-1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland E-mail: [email protected] TDR/STR/SEB/ST/04.2 Globalization and infectious diseases: A review of the linkages Lance Saker,1 MSc MRCP Kelley Lee,1 MPA, MA, D.Phil. Barbara Cannito,1 MSc Anna Gilmore,2 MBBS, DTM&H, MSc, MFPHM Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum,1 D.Phil. 1 Centre on Global Change and Health London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK 2 European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition (ECOHOST) London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK TDR/STR/SEB/ST/04.2 Copyright © World Health Organization on behalf of the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases 2004 All rights reserved. The use of content from this health information product for all non-commercial education, training and information purposes is encouraged, including translation, quotation and reproduction, in any medium, but the content must not be changed and full acknowledgement of the source must be clearly stated.
    [Show full text]
  • Health Care Under Fire: the New Normal?
    Michelle Mülhausen, Emma Tuck and Heather Zimmerman London School of Economics and Political Science Department of International Development Health Care Under Fire: The New Normal? 10 March 2017 Health Care Under Fire: The New Normal? Background of consultancy report: This research and report was compiled for Chatham House by a research team at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The project received support from partnership1 with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The report fulfils the requirements of the Humanitarian Consultancy Project for the MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies. 1 Partnership in this case refers to specific extended, continued collaboration and engagement from the outset to completion of the project. 2 Copyright front cover photo: AFP Photo / Said Khatib. Page 2 Health Care Under Fire: The New Normal? TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................... 5 ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Emergence, Hegemonic Trends and Biomedical Reductionism Jens Holst
    Holst Globalization and Health (2020) 16:42 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-00573-4 DEBATE Open Access Global Health – emergence, hegemonic trends and biomedical reductionism Jens Holst Abstract Background: Global Health has increasingly gained international visibility and prominence. First and foremost, the spread of cross-border infectious disease arouses a great deal of media and public interest, just as it drives research priorities of faculty and academic programmes. At the same time, Global Health has become a major area of philanthropic action. Despite the importance it has acquired over the last two decades, the complex collective term “Global Health” still lacks a uniform use today. Objectives: The objective of this paper is to present the existing definitions of Global Health, and analyse their meaning and implications. The paper emphasises that the term “Global Health” goes beyond the territorial meaning of “global”, connects local and global, and refers to an explicitly political concept. Global Health regards health as a rights-based, universal good; it takes into account social inequalities, power asymmetries, the uneven distribution of resources and governance challenges. Thus, it represents the necessary continuance of Public Health in the face of diverse and ubiquitous global challenges. A growing number of international players, however, focus on public- private partnerships and privatisation and tend to promote biomedical reductionism through predominantly technological solutions. Moreover, the predominant Global Health concept reflects the inherited hegemony of the Global North. It takes insufficient account of the global burden of disease, which is mainly characterised by non- communicable conditions, and the underlying social determinants of health.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Can International Health Take You?
    Where can International Health Take You? DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL HEALTH The Department of International Health Since 1961, our mission has been to protect the lives of underserved populations across the globe. We achieve this by understanding health problems and developing efficient, affordable means of preventing and treating disease. To serve the world’s most vulnerable populations, we draw on all public health disciplines. We conduct research, educate scientists and health professionals, guide health policy and public health practice, and build institutional capacity that can result in sustained, improved health for all. International Health Graduates For over 50 years, the Department of International Health has trained global health leaders. Our alumni hold principal roles at international agencies, ministries of health, research institutions, foundations, and volunteer organizations. To help prospective students see the opportunities available to our graduates, we have highlighted alumni from each of our program areas and degree programs. Program Areas Degrees Offered • Global Disease Epidemiology and Control • Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) • Health Systems • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) • Human Nutrition • Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) • Social and Behavioral Interventions • Master of Health Science (MHS) in Health Economics Additional master’s programs • MSPH/Peace Corps • MSPH/Registered Dietitian Program • MSPH/MA Dual Degree with School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) www.jhsph.edu/InternationalHealth Global Disease Epidemiology GLOBAL DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CONTROL Global Disease Epidemiology & Control (GDEC) PROGRAM trains students to be future & Control leaders in identifying disease etiologies, and in the design, implementation and evaluation of biomedical interventions to prevent, mitigate or treat diseases of James Fuller, MSPH ’11 Kriti Jain, MSPH ’11 global public health importance.
    [Show full text]
  • Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Health Care Facilities: Driving Transformational Change for Women and Girls Wateraid/ James Kiyimba Wateraid
    Water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities: driving transformational change for women and girls WaterAid/ James Kiyimba WaterAid/ 1 Water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities: driving transformational change for women and girls Access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities is a fundamental component of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and underpins the delivery of safe, quality health services for all, especially women and girls. As the main users of health services and the primary caregivers for family members in many countries around the world, the burden of poor WASH in healthcare facilities falls disproportionately on women. Improving access to WASH in healthcare settings, designed with gender considerations, can contribute to sustainable improvements in the quality of healthcare services, supporting core aspects of UHC including equity and dignity, and ultimately, to positive health and empowerment outcomes for women and their families. Despite being a fundamental component of health systems, WASH services are too often neglected and under-prioritised by governments and development partners. In 2018, the United Nations Secretary General issued a Global Call to Action to elevate the importance of, and prioritize action on, WASH in healthcare facilities. This is in line with the SDGs WaterAid/ James Kiyimba WaterAid/ on health (SDG 3) and clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), and supports a long-term vision that all healthcare facilities provide quality care in a safe, clean environment
    [Show full text]
  • Vaccinating the World in 2021
    Vaccinating the World in 2021 TAMSIN BERRY DAVID BRITTO JILLIAN INFUSINO BRIANNA MILLER DR GABRIEL SEIDMAN DANIEL SLEAT EMILY STANGER-SFEILE MAY 2021 RYAN WAIN Contents Foreword 4 Executive Summary 6 Vaccinating the World in 2021: The Plan 8 Modelling 11 The Self-Interested Act of Vaccinating the World 13 Vaccinating the World: Progress Report 17 Part 1: Optimise Available Supply in 2021 19 Part 2: Reduce Shortfall by Boosting Vaccine Supply 22 The Short Term: Continue Manufacturing Medium- and Long-Term Manufacturing Part 3: Ensure Vaccine Supply Reaches People 37 Improving Absorption Capacity: A Blueprint Reducing Vaccine Hesitancy Financing Vaccine Rollout Part 4: Coordinate Distribution of Global Vaccine Supply 44 Conclusion 47 Endnotes 48 4 Vaccinating the World in 2021 Foreword We should have recognised the warning signs that humanity’s international response to Covid-19 could get bogged down in geopolitical crosscurrents. In early March 2020, a senior Chinese leader proclaimed in a published report that Covid-19 could be turned into an opportunity to increase dependency on China and the Chinese economy. The following month, due in part to the World Health Organisation’s refusal to include Taiwan in its decision- making body, the Trump administration suspended funding to the agency. In May 2020, President Trump announced plans to formally withdraw from it. Quite naturally, many public-health experts and policymakers were discouraged by the growing possibility that global politics could overshadow efforts to unite the world in the effort to fight the disease. However, this report from the Global Health Security Consortium offers hope. It recommends a strategic approach to “vaccine diplomacy” that can help the world bring the pandemic under control.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Progress Report on WASH in Health-Care Facilities 2020
    GLOBAL PROGRESS REPORT ON WASH IN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES Fundamentals first Global progress report on water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities: fundamentals first ISBN 978-92-4-001754-2 (electronic version) ISBN 978-92-4-001755-9 (print version) © World Health Organization 2020 Some rights reserved. This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Under the terms of this licence, you may copy, redistribute and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided the work is appropriately cited, as indicated below. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that WHO endorses any specific organization, products or services. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. If you adapt the work, then you must license your work under the same or equivalent Creative Commons licence. If you create a translation of this work, you should add the following disclaimer along with the suggested citation: “This translation was not created by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is not responsible for the content or accuracy of this translation. The original English edition shall be the binding and authentic edition”. Any mediation relating to disputes arising under the licence shall be conducted in accordance with the mediation rules of the World Intellectual Property Organization (http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rules/). Suggested citation. Global progress report on water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities: fundamentals first. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • An Historic Development for International Law and Public Health
    Maurer School of Law: Indiana University Digital Repository @ Maurer Law Articles by Maurer Faculty Faculty Scholarship 2006 The New International Health Regulations: An Historic Development for International Law and Public Health David P. Fidler Indiana University Maurer School of Law, [email protected] Lawrence O. Gostin Georgetown University Law Center Follow this and additional works at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub Part of the Health Law and Policy Commons, and the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Fidler, David P. and Gostin, Lawrence O., "The New International Health Regulations: An Historic Development for International Law and Public Health" (2006). Articles by Maurer Faculty. 370. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/370 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by Maurer Faculty by an authorized administrator of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The New International Health Regulations: An Historic Development for International Law and Public Health DavidP. Fidlerand Lawrence 0. Gostin sis and malaria, and new diseases, such as HIV/AIDS new International Health Regulations (IHR) and viral hemorrhagic fevers. Concern also existed that onhe WorldMay 23, Health 2005.1 Assembly The new (WHA) IHR represent adopted the some governments lacked the capacity or political will culmination of a decade-long revision process and an to report and respond to diseases of international im- historic development for international law and public portance. By 1995, WHO understood that the revised health. The new IHR appear at a moment when public IHR would have to break with traditional approaches health, security, and democracy have become inter- and construct a novel framework for health and secu- twined, addressed at the highest levels of government.
    [Show full text]
  • Agency Transformation: Bureau for Global Health
    AGENCY TRANSFORMATION BUREAU FOR GLOBAL HEALTH ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ VISION The global health and development landscape is rapidly changing due to new technologies, expansions in data, digital health, and knowledge, and private sector engagement, as well as the changing disease and development landscape. The current Bureau for Global Health (USAID/GH)mays not have the optimal structure to fully address these opportunities and complexities. In addition, USAID is already in the process of reorganizing most of its headquarters. Many of the well-reasoned changes proposed for other parts of the USAID structure need to be implemented in the context of the Agency's largest technical bureau, USAID/GH. USAID will focus on empowering people and communities, promoting preventive and primary care, building optimal health systems and identify innovative and blended financing opportunities to use our capital more effectively and catalytically, while also managing challenges and crises. USAID/GH will reform in order to better support integrated strategies for global health, while continuing to provide targeted assistance to disease-elimination efforts. PROPOSAL To enable USAID/GH to better respond to emerging global health needs, support partner countries in their Journey to Self-Reliance, and ensure that overseas staff have the strategic direction and support that they need, USAID/GH will explore reforms to its programs, processes, workforce and structure. The Bureau will assess ways to align its authorities and staff to key functions and priorities. The Bureau will also look to elevate its key sectoral priorities to ensure they have leadership attention and a stronger voice in the interagency. Building the USAID/GH of the future will require the Bureau to better utilize cross-cutting operating units, bridge existing technical silos, continue its focus on the field, and enhance global technical leadership.
    [Show full text]