Devex: Opinion: For better or worse, politics define 2016 top global health moments
Karl Hofmann, president and CEO of Population Services International

“…2016 had a few bright spots, including a record replenishment for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and two innovative efforts that may very well redefine what it means to be a philanthropist. Here are six top global health moments: 1. America votes, girls and women are set back. … 2. Aid funding in Europe shifts to address an unprecedented refugee crisis. … 3. U.S. Congress plays a political ‘chess game’ with Zika funding. … 4. The Global Fund looks to the ‘global south,’ secures record $12.9 billion replenishment. … 5. [Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau’s ‘golden touch’ extends to foreign aid. … 6. Two new models help redefine philanthropy. … 2017 will be a year for the global health community to redouble its efforts. We must speak with one voice to let taxpayers know the tremendous economic, humanitarian, and diplomatic value aid brings and let legislators know that anything less than an increase in aid spending threatens to reverse the historic gains of the past 30 years…” (12/7).