The US Has a Chance to Invest in Health Workers Like Never Before

By Polly Dunford, President and chief executive officer Rukia Ahmed, lab technologist at Tudor Subcounty Hospital in Mombasa County, Kenya, tests patient samples. Photo by Edwin Joe for IntraHealth International.September 09, 2022Last week, I joined CEOs and senior officials at 25 other organizations inurging USAID Administrator Samantha Power to include $200 million in her fiscal 2024 budget request to strengthen theGlobal Health Worker Initiative. This Biden-Harris initiative is a golden opportunity for the US to partner and collaborate with global and regional initiatives—such as the African Union—in a way we never have before.I signed this letter because we need to support health workers now. Not after the next pandemic is already spreading. Not after our changing climate has intensified our global health challenges and added new ones. But right now. Our future depends on it.The Biden-Harris Global Health Workforce Initiative is the US’s opportunity to deliver long-overdue support to the health workforce—and help enact the sea change in global development that many visionary African leaders are now working toward.“The tide is turning, and we are on the cusp of change,” Dr. Githinji Gitahi, who also signedthe letter, wrote in Devex.“Africa, it is time to claim the seat we have historically been denied at the global health decision-making table.”Unless this initiative is funded, the moment of opportunity will pass us by....
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Policy & Advocacy Health Workers Source Type: news