Jun 29 2010
New Global Health Initiative Details Surfaces
In 2009 President Obama announced plans of implementing the Global Health Initiative (GHI). Through the GHI, the United States will invest $63 billion over the next 6 years to help partner countries improve health in those nations. At the core, the GHI’s objective is to improve the health of women and girls through achieving significant health improvements and creating an effective, efficient, and country-led platform for the sustainable delivery of essential health care and public health programs.”(GHI Consultation Document pg 4-5, http://www.pepfar.gov/documents/organization/136504.pdf).
The GHI will focus on the challenges faced by women and newborns, and children through programs that promote the treatment, care, and prevention of HIV/AIDS through PEPFAR, malaria, tuberculosis (TB), maternal health, child health, family planning and reproductive health, and neglected tropical diseases. The initiative has the view that improving global health is a shared responsibility and is joining efforts by the United Nations to make progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals 4 (reduce child mortality), 5 (improve maternal health), and 6 (combat major diseases). The GHI will initially pick up to 20 countries (the GHI Plus countries) that will receive additional funding and resources to accelerate the impact and test the GHI business model. After this test run, the GHI will apply everywhere the United States’ global health dollars are at work which means over a hundred countries around the world
And just recently, on June 18, 2010, the Obama administration announced the first round of the GHI Plus countries that will be receiving the additional assistance and those countries are: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, and Rwanda. These are the first details about the GHI that has been announced since Obama’s first announcement of the initiative in 2009, but I am sure that more details are to come so stay tuned.