Domestic And Global Health Converge At Spotlight Health

When the Ebola outbreak shattered parts of West Africa and a handful of cases surfaced in the United States, the world was again reminded that a disease anywhere can become a disease everywhere. Yet infectious agents are only one dramatic example, not just of how interconnected our planet has become, but also of the valuable lessons to be learned from looking beyond our own borders. Globally, the widespread use of vaccines counts as one of the great public health success stories of all time, helping to cut the death rate for children under age five in half; yet in the United States and in Europe, a strong anti-vaccine sentiment is growing. Food insecurity and malnutrition exist in both the richest and the poorest countries on Earth, but local conditions influence the origins of the problem and help guide the solutions. Likewise, despite differences in their settings, the hardest-to-serve communities of Camden, New Jersey, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, are both pioneering globally celebrated health extension worker programs to address barriers in health care delivery. Contact and conversation across borders are essential not only to diminish shared threats, but also to encourage innovative approaches to interrelated challenges and to foster creative collaboration. Those are touchstones of the second annual Spotlight Health, which convenes in Aspen, Colorado, this June to kick off the Aspen Ideas Festival. The integrated, two-and-a-half-day agenda at the Aspen Institute brings spe...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Equity and Disparities Featured Global Health Organization and Delivery Population Health Public Health Agriculture Aspen Institute Climate Change Ebola food insecurity Spotlight Health trade Source Type: blogs