Center for Strategic & International Studies’ “Smart Global Health”: Health Systems Support Needed for Enhanced Global Disease Prevention
Nellie Bristol, a senior fellow with the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, writes, “Health systems strengthening has been paid a lot of lip service over the years, but little progress has been made in many places that need the most help. … [T]he Ebola outbreak provides a glaring example of the need. While the global health appropriations process is not likely to reform itself out of its current funding methodology, Congress can act to send a strong message that health aid can be used more broadly and with a focus on long-term results. This would give USAID and other agencies the authority they need to give health systems strengthening the priority it deserves and provide an extra layer of health protection for citizens in developing countries as well as here at home” (10/24).