The Foreign Service Journal, May 2017

32 MAY 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL USAIDFSOs Reflect ON GLOBAL HEALTH DIPLOMACY Health-focused development programs have been a core activity at the U.S. Agency for International Development since the agency’s establishment in 1961. Maria B. (Bea) Spadacini is senior communications adviser in USAID’s Bureau for Global Health. She has worked in the field of international development and humanitarian relief for two decades. From 2005 to 2012 she was based in Nairobi as the regional information officer for CARE, and later worked for the European Commission Humanitar- ian Aid and Civil Protection Unit. Her work has appeared in the Christian Science Monitor , Sojourner Magazine , The Guardian , Corriere della Sera , The East African and Internazionale . O ne vital measure of a country’s strength is the health of its popu- lation. After all, healthy people perform better in school, are able to work and can contrib- ute to economic growth and national stability. Thus, money spent on health care offers a good return on investment. According to “Global Health 2035: A World Converging within a Generation,” a study published in 2013 by The Lancet , every dolla r spent on health care results in $9 to $20 worth of economic and social benefits. FOCUS ON GLOBAL HEALTH DIPLOMACY Money spent on national health care objectives trickles down, affecting both individuals and the communities in which they live. When Americans are deployed to some of the poorest countries in the world for the sole purpose of saving lives and reducing suffering, long-lasting partnerships are forged through trust, appreciation and mutual respect. “Global health is an excellent vehicle for representing the values of the U.S. and reaching a broad section of a country, including those who would not normally interact with diplo- mats,” says Jennifer Adams, acting assistant administrator for global health at USAID, who has been a Foreign Service officer for more than 20 years and has served in Brazil, Central Asia, Senegal and China. Addressing a Basic Human Need In countries that receive USAID assistance, global health programs address the most basic needs and concerns of indi- vidual citizens. “Through global health, we are able to connect on many issues that are important both to the population and to the leadership of the country. Connecting on this level gives us the opportunity to engage an entire system in one of the most critical areas for any government,” explains Adams. “Development programs that focus on improving health gar- BY MAR I A B . SPADAC I N I