Dallas Morning News: Americans need to step up on global health issues
Bill Frist, former U.S. senator from Tennessee and chair of Hope Through Healing Hands, and Jenny Eaton Dyer, executive director of Hope Through Healing Hands

“The Kaiser Family Foundation recently reported that Ebola is still a top-tier global health concern in Americans’ hearts and minds. … More than half of Americans believe that the U.S. government offers more than 26 percent of our annual budget in foreign assistance. The reality: Less than 1 percent of our budget goes to global health and development. As we’ve seen, health issues abroad have a real impact at home. Years of underfunding global health has allowed a virus like Ebola to become a crisis in Africa and reach American soil. If we had spent even one-tenth of our perceived investment, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this position. … We want to encourage Americans to explore foundational global health issues like clean water, vaccines, nutrition, and maternal and child health. … We also urge Congress to prioritize these lifesaving investments in global health. … While we are grateful for the renewed attention being given to global health concerns, we hope that Americans and their legislators will seize the opportunity to protect funding in th[e] key areas of maternal and child health and international family planning in recognition of long-term national and global benefits” (2/12).