Global Health Leaders Vow To Continue Multisectoral Collaborations, Encourage U.S. Foreign Aid Spending During Trump Administration

Devex: Global health leaders including WHO’s Margaret Chan call for teamwork in the face of an inward political turn
“Margaret Chan, outgoing director of the World Health Organization, is urging greater collaboration among global health organizations in the face of a challenging political environment in the United States. Speaking at an event hosted by the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health on Wednesday, Chan warned that the political climate made the work of public health more important than ever in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which she described as a ‘corrective strategy’ to the root causes of inequality. … Global health organizations attending the event — which marked the university department’s 10th anniversary — echoed this call for collaboration. They described coalitions they have built across sectors, countries, and organizations as more necessary than ever in the face of an inward turn in politics and growing concerns regarding the direction of U.S. policy under President Donald Trump…” (Cheney, 2/9).

GeekWire: Melinda Gates on working with the Trump administration and the importance of foreign aid
“…Melinda Gates — one of the world’s leading philanthropists and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — said she hopes the Trump administration will be able to see the importance of [U.S. foreign aid]. ‘What you will continue to hear Bill and I say is that less-than-one-percent portion of the U.S. government budget is highly effective,’ she said yesterday, at a talk celebrating the 10th anniversary of the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health. She also emphasized that the money isn’t just helping the recipients, but that foreign aid creates sustained stability across the world…” (McGrane, 2/9).

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