Global Health

“We will not be successful in our efforts to end deaths from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis unless we do more to improve health systems around the world, focus our efforts on child and maternal health, and ensure that best practices drive the funding for these programs.”
— President Barack Obama

“Every woman, whoever she is, wherever she lives, should be able to give birth without the fear she’s going to lose
her baby or that her baby will lose her mother.”
— Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

05 February 2013 Alliance Gives At-Risk Girls Vaccine Against Cancer-Causing Virus  An international alliance to broaden the availability of immunizations announced a plan February 4 to distribute vaccine to protect girls from human papillomavirus in eight developing world nations.

04 February 2013 Health Leaders Warn of Greatest Disease Risks  In the United States, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) promotes February as American Heart Month with the support of other nongovernmental organizations. One main theme of the event is to drive home the message to women that they face a serious risk of heart disease despite a widely held but erroneous impression in the lay public that men are much more vulnerable to the condition.
• A Healthy Future (PDF, 2.16MB)

2012

18 December 2012 Better Global Health, Less Poverty Projected for 2030  A rise in the middle class, an older population and greater demand for resources will be among the challenges of the year 2030. Adequate planning and foresight can prevent a crisis in resources, a new report concludes, if leaders set their sights to the future.

13 November 2012 Health Officials Raise Diabetes Awareness in November  November 14 is a day to give some thought to whether your lifestyle might lead to a disease that is disabling, deadly and on the rise.  On World Diabetes Day, the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation are urging us to learn the risks of diabetes and adapt a lifestyle that will help us dodge the disease.

09 November 2012 Hygiene, Vaccines Can Stop World's Greatest Child Killer  The Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia, a partnership of more than 140 government, international and philanthropic organizations, sponsors WPD to raise awareness that pneumonia is the top killer of children under age 5 worldwide.

30 September 2012 Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sebelius at U.N. Polio Eradication Event 

06 June 2012 Anti-Malaria Effort Gets Results That Must Be Maintained   An independent evaluation team finds that the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) has been “very successful” in reducing children’s deaths from the mosquito-borne parasitic disease, but also warns that the program must gear up if those gains are to be sustained.

01 June 2012 Clinton Announces $75 Million U.S. Commitment to Global Health  Secretary of State Hillary says the United States is committing $75 million to an initiative aimed at improving women’s health and reducing maternal mortality around the world.    She spoke about the “Saving Mothers, Giving Life” partnership during remarks to the Global Health Conference in Oslo, and thanked Norwegian leaders for being “one of the most generous nations on earth” and for the country’s “extraordinary commitment” to improving global health.

31 May 2012 State Department one-pagers on Global Health and Maternal Mortality
 • Global Health Initiative (GHI)  (PDF, 1 page)
 • U.S. Response to Maternal Mortality (PDF, 1 page)

27 September 2011 International Cooperation Aims to Boost Public Health Systems The United States and the World Health Organization (WHO) are moving to a higher level of cooperation, combining resources to help other countries boost their public health infrastructure for the good of their own people and the rest of the world.

20 September 2011 Enormous Opportunities Ahead to Improve Global Health, U.S. Says  Developing countries are poised to make significant progress in improving mother and neonatal health and reducing child mortality, as the world joins in a new commitment to reduce noncommunicable diseases. The comments came at a press briefing in New York City as the U.N. General Assembly looked at ways to gear up efforts to reduce the occurrence of NCDs, which account for 63 percent of all deaths worldwide.

19 September 2011 U.S.-WHO Agreement on Helping Countries Meet Health Regulations  Joint statement by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and the World Health Organization (WHO).
 • Fact Sheet: Challenges of Non-Communicable Diseases
 • Fact Sheet: The U.S. Global Health Initiative

16 September 2011 USAID Works for Global Health and Social Good at U.N. Assembly  The U.N. General Assembly convenes a special session on noncommunicable diseases September 19–20, and the U.S. Agency for International Development  will be there as a global leader in efforts to improve health, health services and health systems in developing countries.  While international efforts in the health arena in the past have focused largely on infectious diseases, this special session is called in recognition of the fact that noncommunicable diseases, often caused by poor lifestyle choices, are the leading cause of death worldwide.

03 May 2011 Unveiling of the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action    Remarks by Secretary Hillary Clinton on harnessing mobile phone technology to improve maternal and child health.  The partnership leverages the collective resources of the USAID and Johnson & Johnson, with support from the United Nations Foundation, mHealth Alliance and BabyCenter LLC.
 • InfoTech Can Improve Health for Pregnant Moms and Babies

11 April 2011 Statement by the U.S. at the UN Commission on Population and Development  Remarks by Margaret Pollack, Director for Multilateral Coordination and External Relations and Senior Advisor on Population Issues; Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration; U.S. Department of State in New York, NY.

09 March 2011 - Remarks by Secretary Clinton on Launch of a Global Partnership on Maternal and Child Health.  "I believe this partnership will spark revolutionary advances that can dramatically reduce maternal and newborn deaths around the world."

16 February 2011 U.S. Health Initiative to Focus on Poor, Rural Areas Worldwide  President Obama’s Global Health Initiative will turn its focus to community-based approaches and health care solutions for the poorest, most rural areas around the world, says Dr. Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).