http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/08/13/global_healthcare_takes_more_than_a_pill/AS THE United States works on a comprehensive global health strategy as part of its commitment to fighting world poverty, it faces an opportune moment to move beyond tracking the number of HIV/AIDS patients treated or bed nets distributed to reduce the spread of malaria. Having worked with Senator John Kerry on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, I recognize the importance of saving as many lives as possible struggling to cope with this disease in developing countries. While these are important benchmarks to measure, a broader, more aggressive approach to global health is needed.
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The US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation takes an innovative approach to strengthening the policy environment for global health. From the outset, the corporation evaluates a country’s immunization rates, total public expenditure on health, and commitment to combating corruption to determine where to invest its development grants. This smart approach ensures that US dollars are spent wisely in countries already taking steps to do their part to strengthen the health of their citizens.
Many of the principles embodied by the corporation inform the ongoing debate about foreign aid, including a foreign assistance reform bill recently unveiled by Senators Kerry and Richard Lugar. The corporation is an incubator of sorts, testing ideas, using incentives for good policies, applying rigorous measures to evaluate projects, practicing candor. Requiring country-led development and accountability as the corporation does is difficult, but it is proving effective in delivering development assistance that is improving the lives of the poor, including their health.(Note: he is on the board of directors of the Millenium Challenge Corporation)
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