Health Affairs Blog: Eyes On The Final Prize: Integrating Services To Transform Global Health
Eric Goosby, U.N. special envoy on tuberculosis and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco

“…[I]n the year to come, it is imperative that those of us working on specific disease investments keep our eyes on the final prize — that of integrating disease and wellness services to create a more responsive health system in every country that is capable of delivering essential services to the entire population. … By investing in better information systems, training health workers, improving access for marginalized populations, and optimizing financial management through procurement and supply chain reform, the Global Fund and its partners are supporting the creation of cross-cutting services that provide health benefits reaching far beyond AIDS, TB, and malaria. … Universal health care is necessary to win the fight against diseases like TB — and putting patients into another disease-specific program does not make any sense. As we look toward universal health coverage, we must preserve the gains that have been painstakingly won in the fight against individual diseases, which is only possible with steady funding of global health institutions…” (12/17).