Global Health

The reality of foreign aid spending is vastly different than its perception. Despite representing a small sliver of the federal budget, foreign aid does a lot of good.

It's critical that our news media cover these issues in a way that touches people, and helps people to understand exactly what's happening in the countries, cities, villages, towns, health centers and homes of people around the world.

As an amateur climber for 20 years, I learned that to scale daunting cliffs and ice, two core attributes are required -- courage and teamwork. You probably feel like you have been climbing your own mountain after two days of G8 talks at Camp David

Frontline health workers are really the backbone of effective health systems in developing countries. These workers are members of the community who live in the communities they serve and understand the needs as well as the barriers to achieving optimal health.

We hope G8 leaders commit to action and investment to improve nutrition for mothers and children during the critical 1,000 days from pregnancy to age 2, when nutrition can have a lifelong impact on a child's future in terms of both health and development.

HOPE on Film is a series of short films that follow the lifesaving work of Project HOPE volunteers around the world.

We're at risk of failing the poorest nations if we don't step up our efforts to address a health concern that's connected to the success of nearly every important socio-economic development milestone. I'm talking about neglected tropical diseases.

I pay $1 to have an eye test. I can come two more times in the next three months and I will not be charged. I first do a glaucoma test, and then I am ...

What is the greatest gift we can give a mother this Mother's Day? There are many answers, but one is a healthy life for her and her child. This Mother's Day, let's sharpen our resolve to ensure mothers everywhere have children who are born HIV-free.

As a doctor practicing in Africa, I have seen the AIDS pandemic unfold. I have witnessed the spread of HIV slow down as progress has been made in identifying effective prevention strategies.

Efforts to tackle noncommunicable diseases should not rest solely on the shoulders of governments and multilaterals. If we are to bring these diseases under control, we must have a commitment and cooperation from all sectors.

Until recently, most health clinics in Uganda, and indeed across the continent of Africa, transmitted all of their data manually. The journey of a paper record from doctor's pad to the Ministry of Health in Kampala was treacherous at best.

Although our founding mother of modern nursing would be impressed with the health technology of today, I am sure she would be sorely disappointed by the ongoing invisibility of nurses, which she fought so hard to overcome during her lifetime.

Approximately one out of every eight children in sub-Saharan Africa dies before his or her fifth birthday from preventable and treatable causes. These deaths are preventable through the deployment of health systems of the kind being pioneered in the Millennium Villages.

We need to diversify how we fund the global fight against diseases like malaria. The term for this is "innovative financing for development." The world's laboratory for innovative financing is located in Geneva, in a small outpost of the UN family called UNITAID.

All women, including those living with HIV, have a right to decide whether and when to have children, and how many to have. Right now, there are 215 million women who want access to modern contraception but do not have it.

April 25 is World Malaria Day. It is a time to celebrate the progress made in the fight against this disease, but it also time to renew our commitment to eradicating the killer of at least 650,000 people worldwide in 2010.

As a father of three, I see unlimited potential when I look at my children. And I am reminded that my own parents came to the United States from India so that my sister and I could have a strong education and greater opportunity in life.

Have you ever had to buy a long-lasting insecticide-treated bed net (LLIN)? Probably not, even if you live in Africa, where nine out of ten malaria-related deaths occur.

A healthy environment is not a luxury item. It is an essential human right. We not only need to defend our air, our water, our food supply, our homes and communities, we need to defend the first environment -- the bodies of our families, our children and grandchildren.

If you ever have the pleasure of visiting Claudy Dalegrand at his home just south of Cap Haitien, Haiti, be sure to wear a good pair of shoes.