U.S. Investments In Global Public Health Are ‘Smart Foreign Policy’

Forbes: Our Opportunity Where Health and National Security Converge
Bill Frist, former U.S. senator from Tennessee and chair of Hope Through Healing Hands

“[Last] week, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and I released a report recommending a policy of strategic health diplomacy, inspired and informed by the success of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). … [L]eading on global threats to public health is not just the moral thing to do, it is smart foreign policy. Through strategic health diplomacy, we stand to benefit by fostering international good will and strengthening nation-partners. … Going forward, instead of slashing our foreign affairs budget as some have advocated, we should invest in global public health as a strategic tool to improve well-being while potentially bolstering our own national security interests. With the presidential campaign in full swing, we want to urge candidates from both parties to pledge to do more to fight diseases around the world. Despite recent partisanship, Senator Daschle and I strongly believe that bipartisan consensus can happen again to build on PEPFAR’s successes” (11/13).

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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