The statistics are shocking.Malawi has only 260 doctors to care for a population of 13 million. The city of Washington, DC — home to 600,000 people — has about twice as many physicians as the entire country of Ethiopia, home to 80 million.Today, as we celebrate World Health Day, the health workforce crisis remains one of the greatest hurdles to realizing the right to health for all in developing countries. Now, the US Government has an amazing new opportunity to support health workers in Africa, Asia and other regions to fight AIDS, malaria, maternal mortality and other medical conditions that kill millions every year.The Global HEALTH Act, introduced in Congress by Representative Barbara Lee on March 24, would provide $2 billion over 5 years to increase the number of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health workers in developing countries, and to improve primary care for all. The bill not only authorizes new resources. It also develops a comprehensive vision for a US Global Health Strategy that will complement the goals of developing countries and ensure our aid money is effectively used to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.Commemorate World Health Day by taking action. Email your Representative and encourage him/her to co-sponsor the Global HEALTH Act today.Want to learn more about the Global HEALTH Act? Check out PHR’s blog series on the bill. Read the bill, check out our fact sheet, watch videos on the health workforce crisis, and hear from African doctors and nurses as they describe what it is to work in broken health systems.This bill would revolutionize America’s response to the health workforce crisis, and could help save hundreds of thousands of lives: Tell your Representative to co-sponsor the Global HEALTH Act today.
