Friday, February 17, 2006

The New World of Global Health

The New World of Global Health
Jon Cohen
Science 13 January 2006: Vol. 311. no. 5758, pp. 162 – 167 - DOI: 10.1126/science.311.5758.162

Website: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5758/162?
PDF file: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/311/5758/162.pdf

“…..An array of well-heeled new players has dramatically reshaped how wealthy countries tackle infectious diseases of the poor. But increasingly, these ambitious efforts are confronting their own limitations
A revolution is under way that is fundamentally altering the way the haves of the world assist the have-nots. Over the past 7 years, a cadre of deep-pocketed, impassioned players has committed more than $35 billion to fight the diseases of the world's poor. At the forefront of these efforts is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which since 1999 has pledged $6 billion--roughly the budget of the World Health Organization (WHO) during the same time--to battling HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other long-underfunded diseases.
Close on the foundation's heels are a half-dozen other massive new efforts, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which has promised $4.8 billion to 128 countries, and the President's Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from the Bush Administration that has pledged $15 billion to help selected countries. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), with half of the $3 billion in its coffers supplied by the Gates Foundation, is helping 72 countries fortify the immune systems of their children. And thanks in part to a star-studded cast that is championing the cause--including the rocker Bono, matinee idols Angelina Jolie and Richard Gere, former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and economist-cum-firebrand Jeffrey Sachs--stories on global health now routinely grace the covers of news magazines.

But amid all the heartfelt praise, the organizations at the forefront of the global health movement are now undergoing both increasing outside scrutiny and internal soul-searching about what they are actually accomplishing…..”

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