Remarks as Prepared to Pan American Health Organization: "World Health Day"

Thank you, Dr. [Mirta] Roses [PAHO Director]. It's a pleasure to be here. I'm glad I made it back in time for this event. I'll tell you about my trip in a minute.

First, let me say I am pleased that Dr. Cristina Beato has joined PAHO as Deputy Director. I have had the pleasure of working closely with Cristina for the past two of years, and I am sure she will be a great asset to Dr. Roses and to all Member States. PAHO is a key player in advancing health care in the Americas, and Cristina's appointment as Deputy Director reflects our commitment to PAHO's mission.

The theme for this year's World Health Day is Invest in Health, Build a Safer Future. I can assure you that that is just what we in the United States are doing.

President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative to combat a single disease. The plan provides $15 billion to fund a five-year struggle against AIDS around the world.

President Bush has also pledged to boost funding to fight malaria worldwide by more than $1.2 billion. Our goal is to reduce deaths due to malaria by 50 percent in 15 African countries.

The United States also strongly supports the WHO's efforts to meet the global need for influenza vaccine. We have provided $10 million to the WHO to help developing countries produce more vaccine. We have also invested heavily in vaccine research and in expanding our own production capacity. Funding for cell-base vaccine research alone has totaled $1 billion.

At the same time, we cannot let our efforts to make vaccines more available compromise the integrity of the 50-year-old WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network. The network provides the world with early warning of evolving flu viruses. All nations therefore have a responsibility to share data and virus samples.

Responding to a pandemic will demand the cooperation of the entire world community. No nation can go it alone.

We look forward to discussing the issue with other nations and agencies in coming weeks, and to finding ways to act quickly on the WHO's action plan in ways that address every nation's concerns.

Now let me tell you about another way the United States is investing in health in the Americas.

Earlier this month, President Bush shared with the people of the Americas his commitment to advancing social justice in the Western Hemisphere.

That commitment includes helping democracies in the region -

• Build Governments that are fair, effective, and free of corruption;
• Maintain economies that make it possible for workers to provide for their families.
• Meet basic needs for education, housing, and health care; and

My part in this effort is improving the region's health care, especially in rural areas. That is why I am here today.

Health care is a universal language - a language of caring.

The U.S. Government invests millions of dollars each year in health programs in Latin American. Since 2001, the United States has spent almost $1 billion on health programs in the region.

This new effort will focus on three main objectives:

• Increasing direct patient care provided by U.S. personnel,
• Improving the training of local health workers, and
• Forging partnerships of public and private groups to provide more and better health care.

Toward the first objective, people from my Department and the U.S military will work with local health officials and professionals to provide health care to those most in need.

The President is sending the U-S-N-S Comfort - a Navy medical ship - to Latin America and the Caribbean. The Comfort will make port calls in 12 countries. Its doctors, nurses, and technicians expect to treat 85,000 patients - and conduct up to 1,500 surgeries.

Dental care among the poor is an area of special concern. So, this summer, dentists of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps will join military dentists from the U.S. Southern Command on humanitarian missions to the region.

They will perform basic treatments like filling cavities, treating infections and pulling teeth. They will apply sealants to children's teeth to protect them from cavities for many years to come. They will also offer preventive education on oral health and hygiene to children and their parents.

Our second objective is improving training of local health workers in the region.

To do that, my Department is working with local officials to start a Regional Training Center in Panam. This school will train a range of health-care workers - community health workers, sub-physicians, sub nurses, technicians, midwives, and dental hygienists.

Once trained, they will work alongside local professionals to provide basic care in rural areas and poor neighborhoods.

The Government of Panam is our strong partner and host in this project, and I am grateful for the help of Minister of Health Camilo Alleyne, who traveled with me in the region.

Our third objective is working closer with American non-governmental health-care providers in the region. By coordinating health-care delivery in the region, we can do a better job of making the most of the resources we have available.

I've told you what our proposal is - let me also tell you what it is not:

• It is not the usual foreign-assistance program managed by contractors;
• It is not a short-term, one-time intervention;
• It is not a plan to place large numbers of U.S. Government personnel permanently on the ground to compete with you and your colleagues;
• It is not a research program; and,
• It is not a strategy to recruit Latin American health-care workers to work in the United States.

There is still much to do.

The new school in Panamá will need some of local colleagues to serve as faculty, and others to help select the students who would be most appropriate for your country to send for training.

It will also need advice on curricula to make sure the training modules fit local needs.

Our partnership in support of the school will also help prepare all of our countries to defend against future pandemics.

The possibility of a devastating influenza pandemic is our common enemy, and we will need a common defense against it.

Working together, we can improve the health of the people of Central America, build a common defense against disease, and bring all of our countries closer together as neighbors and kinsmen.

Last revised: March 13, 2008