“The Heart of Human Progress”

Jul 1st, 2010 4:46 PM UTC
By Nathan Cole

On Tuesday, Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), talked about the Global Health Initiative (GHI) at a meeting of global health and international development professionals from across Washington, D.C. The Administrator demonstrated tremendous enthusiasm and optimism concerning the future of both global health generally and the specific efforts of USAID, and stated that “health is, in fact, at the heart of human progress.”

Henrietta Holsman Fore, Administrator of USAID from 2007-2009, introduced Dr. Shah as “a remarkable symbol, as well as a leader. There are many experts within USAID, but we are delighted that Raj is a doctor. As a medical doctor, it means he can lead with enormous integrity in the field of health.”

Dr. Shah began his discussion of the GHI with a story of “two women with one thing in common: they’re both pregnant with their third child.” After painting a picture of the resource disparities between a pregnant woman in sub-Saharan Africa and her counterpart in the United States, Shah presented a sobering statistic: a woman in the United States faces a 1-in-4800 chance of dying in childbirth, whereas in sub-Saharan Africa, the chance is 1-in-22. This disparity is “simply unacceptable,” said Shah. “The President’s Global Health Initiative is designed to close that gap.”

Administrator Shah highlighted some of the work the U.S. is doing to address health challenges globally. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest effort by any one country to fight a single disease, and in its first phase, the plan provided antiretroviral treatment to more than 2 million people and supported care for more than 10 million worldwide. Similarly, the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) has distributed more than 19 million insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and 40 million anti-malarial treatments. However, Shah warned of “stove-piping” our approach to global health, citing cases in which patients in developing countries were often required to visit two separate clinics for two different conditions. “The Global Health Initiative is therefore about the patient, not just the disease.”

The Global Health Initiative will devote $63 billion to helping countries to achieve significant advances, while attempting to create conditions in which the need for future aid is reduced. Dr. Shah outlined some general principles of the GHI. The initiative will “do more of what works” and will focus on expanding existing service platforms. Simultaneously, the GHI will prioritize innovation, focus on country ownership, and pay special attention to women and girls.

Administrator Shah closed the Q&A session that followed by reaffirming that Americans “care deeply” about these issues. He noted that over half of American families supported in some way the relief effort in Haiti after the earthquake. Shah also mentioned those who, like himself, “own RED watches or RED t-shirts, and wear them with great pride.” It is a “symbol of their commitment to saving lives around the world.”

This event was hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). A video and full transcript can be found here.

TAGS: Dr. Rajiv Shah, USAID