Responses to your Questions

August 18, 2009

Question: Will the commission be considering the importance of managed transportation, predictable, cost effective mobility as part of its' remit? If so, will the commission be aware of the 20 years of experience that Riders for Health (NGO) has in this field? If we can help with more information about the vital yet neglected aspect of development, please let us know. We will be honoured to contribute to the commission.

Response: Thank you for writing to us. We are very aware of the critical and interesting work that Riders for Health has done over the years, particularly because of the great press the organization has received. There is a rising appreciation of the need for reliable, safe road networks and transportation systems for the delivery of health services. This is an important dimension of global health - if possible, please point us to more writing on this issue.

Question: Who is on the commission representing the Environmental Health community? Are they credentialed as Registered Sanitarians?

Response: We're looking at the issue of environmental health primarily from the angle of water quality. We'd like to point you towards the Declaration on U.S. Policy and the Global Challenge of Water, published by CSIS in March 2009. Bill Frist, one of our Commissioners, co-chaired that effort and will further inform the Commission's work in this area.

Question: With most of the developing world constrained by an insufficient health workforce, the importance of investments in creating cadre of healthcare professionals including physicians, nurses and midwives cannot be over emphasised. According to the WHO World Health Statistics, 2009, of the 193 countries surveyed for health workforce, infrastructure, and essential medicines, only 54 countries have 23 or more healthcare professionals per 100, 000 population. Will the Commission be considering recommendations to address the challenge of increasing health workforce in developing countries? The other severe constraint and one that severely affects both development and health in large parts of the world, is the lack of clean drinking water. I recall a release from Director, CSIS urging that water be brought to the policy surface and suggested the need for a high profile office on par with initiatives like PEPFAR. The proposed Smart Health Policy may be a relevant forum for suitable policy interventions.

Response: Thank you for your comment. Bridging the gaps in health workforces and health systems will be essential for creating long-term, sustainable impacts on the ground. Addressing these challenges has been a recurrent topic of conversation among the Commissioners.

Question: What can professional associations and ordinary citizens do to participate in global health diplomacy? The global oral health community would like to be involved in smart global health initiatives but encounters barriers to inclusion in teams of opinion leaders engaged in these broader efforts.

Response: This is an excellent question. We actually have not given a whole lot of thought to the role of the oral health community, or the barriers ofinclusion it might encounter. When we toured the USNS Comfort in early 2009, however, we discovered that dental programs play a key role in the U.S. Navy's medical missions. During ‘Continuing Promise 2009' (the ship's most recent deployment) 15,003 patients were provided with dental services. It would be good for us to learn more about this important issue - please send us information.

Question: What are the unmet family planning needs, particularly for women living with HIV? How has the violence affected health care? Meet with Kilonzo on rape.

Response: Thank you sharing your interest in women's health and family planning. Janet Fleischman, Senior Associate for the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, has been closely tracking these issues for the Commission. She recently co-authored with Allen Moore from the Stimson Center a paper on finding a common ground approach to expanding the U.S. role in international family planning.

Please continue to share you questions and testimony for the Commission.