Much international attention has been given to the people of the Philippines who became victims of a massive typhoon just a week and a half ago. Understanding why aid is necessary and directing efforts toward outcome-oriented solutions is critical.
Truckloads of food, medicine and volunteers have entered the Philippines, but the channels through which these resources must flow are often broken or non-existent. Many local hospitals have a critical shortage of supplies and little access to clean water and sanitation. There is very real concern that typhoid, cholera and other diseases might soon break out.
While natural disasters are unavoidable, many deaths that result from these disasters could be minimized if there were proper systems in place beforehand. As the surge of media coverage slows to a trickle, it is imperative that we take a broader perspective on what makes these disasters so devastating.
If an asthmatic patient suffers an asthma attack, a physician provides both immediate treatment and long-term preventatives. The same approach must be applied to infrastructure deficits in susceptible areas. It is a disservice to the victims of these disasters for international organizations and governments to rush to provide acute aid without helping to invest in long-range mitigation.
The Global Fund addresses both the structural and biological determinants of disease by providing for both long-term and immediate health care needs. Founded in 2002, The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing institution aimed at fighting these three diseases of poverty using 21st century approaches grounded in partnership, transparency, constant learning and results-based funding.
Since 2002, the Global Fund has enabled 5.3 million people to begin anti-retroviral therapy for AIDS, detected and treated 11 million new tuberculosis cases and distributed more than 340 million insecticide-treated bed nets to fight malaria.
Despite their shared success, gains made in the past 11 years will mean nothing if sound investments are not made by the United States. It is crucial that the U.S. sustain funding to continue to weaken these epidemics that slow economic, political and social progress in the developing world. This is important for human health, global citizenship and diplomatic relations in vulnerable areas.
It is also important to each and every one of us.
These diseases are not confined to the developing world. Many infectious diseases once thought to be a problem of the past have come back with a vengeance, traversing both national and international boundaries and affecting communities in our own backyard.
On Dec. 3, international leaders will gather in Washington, D.C., to decide what portion of funds should be allocated to the Global Fund. To ensure that over a decade of gains are not lost, the United States must commit to maintaining its previous pledge of $5 billion in funding over the next three years. This historic opportunity will deal a crippling worldwide blow to malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis.
The threat to the U.S. is very real. This past April, Sheboygan County activated its emergency operations center to contain a multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis outbreak of nine documented cases, mobilizing $4.7 million dollars in emergency state funds. The incident sent a jolt of panic through the state health department, with epidemiologists predicting there could be 15 active MDR-TB cases alongside 200 latent ones. Officials estimated costs upward of $17 million to contain the disease.
Private housing was secured for one of the patients with active TB, paid for by the county. Treatment for MDR-TB requires daily medicines that can cost nearly $300,000 for a single case, with patients requiring treatment for up to a year. These global problems become local ones when we divest in efforts to eradicate these epidemics, putting all of us at risk.
Though we cannot prevent the acute danger and damage brought by natural disasters like the typhoon in the Philippines, linking foreign aid to long-term investments in public health systems can protect people and dampen the effects of these things we cannot control. It pays to prevent.
Investing in these efforts can have a stabilizing effect for a long time to come, and protects us all from global epidemics. The Global Fund does just that by strengthening health systems so that, when tragedies do strike, people are better prepared to deal with them.
A commitment from the United States would translate to 10 million lives saved and the protection of countless others from infection. As constituents demand political prioritization of these preventable diseases, the political will to bring unprecedented resources into the field of global health can and must be galvanized.
I urge you to contact your congressional and Senate representatives. We can see the eradication of these horrible epidemics if, as constituents, we make this a priority for ourselves and urge our representatives to do the same.
Jake Roble is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying biology and global health and is the co-director of Partners in Health | Engage-Madison, a community-based organization working to advance the human right to health through advocacy, fundraising and education. To find out more about how you can get involved with PIH | Engage-Madison, contact us at pihengage.madison@gmail.com.
