Remarks as Delivered to the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Yesterday the President talked about his vision for advancing the cause of social justice in the Western Hemisphere.

His commitment to helping democracies in the region includes:

• Building Government institutions that are fair, effective, and free of corruption;
• Meeting basic needs like education, health care, and housing; and
• Maintaining economies that make it possible for workers to provide for their families and rise in society.

If I may, I would like to talk briefly about one of these new initiatives: Health Diplomacy in Central America.

Health care is a universal language of caring.  The U.S. Government invests millions of dollars each year in health programs in Latin American countries.  Since 2001, the United States has invested almost $1 billion to improve health through programs sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

But money cannot substitute for the bond formed when someone actually cares for your son or daughter when they are sick, or when someone gives a young health-care worker the tools and training to help others.    

By becoming more directly and visibly involved, we can make these programs stronger, and increase our friendship and good will with the people of these countries.

The President’s plan for health diplomacy in the Americas has three objectives:

• Increase direct patient care provided in the region by U.S. Government personnel;
• Improve the training of Latin American health-care workers in their home region; and
• Maximize the quality and quantity of health-care delivery through closer coordination with U.S. non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, operating in the region.

U.S. Government personnel, both in and out of uniform, from my Department and the U.S. Department of Defense, will become more directly involved in treating and healing the poor in Central America. 

Today, the President announced that he will send the USNS Comfort – a Navy medical ship – to Latin America and the Caribbean.  The Comfort will make port calls in 12 countries. Its doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals expect to treat 85,000 patients and conduct up to 1,500 surgeries.

Dental care and oral health is one area where much assistance is needed.  The 2003 World Oral Health Report showed that the Latin American region has one of the highest rates of poor oral health. This can have significant impact on a person’s life:

• Oral pain from bad teeth can make eating a proper diet difficult or impossible;
• Visible tooth problems can be embarrassing and can lead to social isolation; and
• Tooth problems can lead to other medical issues and higher health-care costs.

Some of the targeted countries invest less than one percent of their Government health budgets into oral health.  So, this summer, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps dentists from HHS will join U.S. Southern Command military medical and humanitarian missions to provide preventive dental care and other medical care to needy citizens of these countries. 

HHS dentists will perform basic treatments, like filling cavities, treating infections, and pulling teeth.  They will also apply sealants to the teeth of thousands of children, and offer preventive education on oral health and hygiene to children and their parents. 

Our second objective—improved training.

The U.S. health-care system is the most sophisticated in the world, and we can offer our training to Latin American health-care workers in the region where they are delivering care.

To supply that training locally, HHS is establishing a regional training center in Panamá.  To ensure its success, we must:

• Forge agreements between Central American countries and the school to supply and fund students for attendance;
• Develop a governing structure and curricula for the school; and,
• Engage U.S. universities and NGOs to build school resources, faculty, distance-learning capabilities, and other needs.

The school will train a broad variety of health-care workers—community health workers, sub-physicians, sub-nurses, technicians—so they can provide high-quality, basic care in rural and other poor areas. 

The training will also help them prepare for situations that could require specific skills related to infectious disease, such as pandemic influenza.  And because this training will take place locally, students will quickly return to their homes to apply what they’ve learned.  This will contribute to the improvement of health care provided in their own communities.

Finally, by better coordinating on-the-ground health-care delivery with NGOs that are operating in the region, we can do a better job of making the most of the resources we have to devote to this mission.

Much of the ground work, and many of the discussions necessary to begin this work, have already taken place.

• In September of 2006, I met with health ministers from Central America at the annual Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization in Washington. 
• In December, I visited the site of the regional training center, or school, in Panama.
• In January, I visited Nicaragua for President Ortega’s inauguration, and had the opportunity to meet with many Central American heads of state.

Now, we are ready to get to work.

• Later this month, I will travel to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.  There I will meet with the heads of state to formalize our discussions in September, and to sign letters of intent between HHS and their ministries of health to establish the regional training center.

• The first training module for health-care workers in this training center is scheduled to take place next month.  The faculty will, at least initially, consist of experts from Central American countries and HHS.
• As I mentioned earlier, the first HHS dentists and dental hygienists will deploy early this summer, including aboard the USNS Comfort.

By providing direct patient care and training local health workers, the President’s initiative can help to build a strong partnership with Central American countries.  Together, we can help to improve the health of the people of Central America and our friendship with them as neighbors.

I look forward to getting started.

Last revised: March 13, 2008