Global Health Successes Deserve More U.S. Media, Public Attention

Wall Street Journal: A Little-Noticed Win in Global HIV Treatment
Drew Altman, president and chief executive officer at the Kaiser Family Foundation

“Many Americans are skeptical about foreign aid because they believe a large share of U.S. assistance is lost to corruption. … So it was of no small consequence when UNAIDS announced this month that the global goal adopted in 2011 of getting 15 million people on HIV antiretroviral treatment by the end of 2015 had been met nine months early. Don’t be surprised if you haven’t heard much about this; there was coverage elsewhere of the pledge but little, if any, national media coverage in the U.S. … [T]his goal being met means that millions of lives have been saved, and much of the funding for this work was provided by the U.S. government and, ultimately, taxpayers. … Meeting this goal and doing so early does not prove that there is no corruption in global health efforts. Far from it. But public attitudes toward corruption and aid suggest that successes like this one don’t get enough attention” (7/27).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

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