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REMARKS BY: TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: Global Health Council, Washington, D.C. DATE: June 1, 2001
I'm reminded of what President Kennedy said when he hosted a group of Nobel Laureates at the White House - that there hasn't been so much talent assembled together since Thomas Jefferson dined alone.
Your meeting is dealing with an issue - women's health - that is very close to home for me. Whenever I think about issues relating to the health of women, I think of my wife Sue Ann, who has been active in women's health issues for many years.
As First Lady of Wisconsin, Sue Ann founded the Wisconsin Women's Health Foundation, which many health problems faced by women and girls in our state. She continues to run this program.
Sue Ann is also a breast cancer survivor. Her experience has given me a firsthand perspective on the importance of quality medical care for women in need, and a deeper appreciation for the kind of work the Global Health Council does.
Women are the major consumers of health care in the United States. They are a growing majority of the population of our elderly citizens. Women are the primary caregivers in every family - more than men, they pick up prescriptions, nurse sick children, monitor the annual checkups and vaccinations and ensure that the family is eating right.
Women are the first line of the family's defense against illness and injury. That's why women's health is one of the very highest priorities of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Bush Administration.
But our concern is inspired by more than our domestic demographics, as important as they are. When it comes to global health, I'm reminded of the words of Dr. Daulaire (Duh-LAIR), "There is no `them' - there is only `us'."
Disease knows no borders. Infection knows no boundaries. What affects someone in another country today will affect someone in my country tomorrow.
So, needless to say, the theme of this conference - "Healthy Women, Healthy World" - is important to everyone who cares about the future - about America's future, and also about our common future as human beings who share a common home on this planet.
Too often, the study and treatment of women's health problems has been rolled into broader health research. Thankfully, that's changing. The Institute of Medicine recently issued a report titled, "Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?" The report's answer? A resounding, "Yes!"
The biological differences between men and women demand differences in the kind of treatment they receive. Men and women have different health needs at every stage of life. One size does not fit all - and one type of treatment for both sexes ignores some essential medical facts. It's this knowledge that defines our commitment to quality health care for women around the world.
President Bush and my colleagues and I at the Department of Health and Human Services have already made important decisions on several global health priorities that bear directly on women. Some of those decisions relate to issues of funding, which I will discuss in a moment.
But some of our decisions relate to helping health professionals around the world gain access to the latest developments in health care.
Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services is about to launch a new Web site we believe will help public health professionals in both developing and industrialized nations gain access to health- related information and news.
The site - www.globalhealth.gov - is, in a way, a counterpart to the global health council Web site.
Our new site will be a global health portal with information and news about global health issues, our global health activities and partners and links to the latest in medical literature and global health resources.
The site should be up and running within the next few weeks, but I'm announcing it today because I wanted you to be aware of it. It will be an outstanding resource for men and women like yourselves - people who need the most recent data about major illnesses and how you can link-up with peers and colleagues around the world.
This new site underscores America's commitment to quality health care for everyone. That commitment is not new in itself. For example, the widespread availability of vaccines for childhood diseases and tetanus has reduced maternal and childhood mortality worldwide.
From 1960 to 1995, the child mortality rate worldwide fell from 58 per 1,000 live births to 24 per 1,000 live births.
This kind of progress has been due, in large part, to the advances we've made in the development and distribution of vaccines, many of which have been developed in the United States. We have helped make them available around the world.
Our commitment to global health has been renewed by the new Administration and has found strong backing in the President's budget for the next fiscal year. Let me list some of the specific programs the President has targeted for increased support.
We will provide an additional $212 million next year in the global effort to address HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This funding is in addition to the more than $480 million already committed.
These funds will supply important research and health programs, prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and provide care to infected individuals in many of the most affected nations.
Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services published "The Clinical Guide for the Care of Women with HIV," believed to be the first manual of its kind. Produced by my department with wise counsel from experienced health professionals in developing countries, the manual offers authoritative guidelines for those treating women with HIV.
We believe the manual will be very useful to caregivers on the frontlines of the war against HIV/AIDS.
We are providing our National Institutes of Health with $2.5 billion for HIV/AIDS research, including $357 million to find a vaccine, a 27 percent increase. Funding for our National Institutes of Health HIV programs will increase by 12 percent this year. And we are focusing intently on an effective prevention regime.
I'm quick to add that President Bush has asked Secretary of State Colin Powell and me to jointly lead his task force on AIDS. We're very mindful of the global nature of the crisis and its profound impact on human health throughout the world.
Secretary Powell and I are pleased to be joining Secretary-General Kofi Annan and representatives of other donor nations as we determine how the AIDS fund I mentioned earlier will actually work. We want to take an integrated approach, addressing prevention as well as care, and make sure the fund is administered for maximum efficiency.
Our $200 million needs to be coupled with commitments from others, including foundations, the private sector and donor nations, so that it can serve as a true partnership capable of tackling a global medical crisis.
I should also note that, just as Secretary Powell did, I plan to visit Africa later this year to see firsthand the effects of AIDS/HIV in the sub-Saharan region.
Secretary Powell and I are looking forward to working closely with you as we develop and advance policies and practices that will arrest the spread of AIDS and, ultimately, bring the disease itself to a halt.
There are other global health priorities in the President's budget, as well. We continue our strong commitment to eradicate polio. Dozens of our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention professionals are working in the endemic countries and at WHO headquarters in Geneva to attack this problem. We all need to stay focused to ensure that polio disappears by 2005. Loss of the momentum we have gained would be tragic.
The National Institutes of Health will also soon offer an international tobacco control research program, cosponsored with WHO, to identify the best practices in reducing first-time smoking worldwide, especially among children and adolescents.
For women in the United States, the President's budget increases funding for health care, health research and health services by $4.8 billion, a substantial increase over the previous year.
Included in this is a $10.5 million increase for the Office on Women's Health in my immediate office. That's a 62 percent increase from the current fiscal year - 62 percent. This renewed emphasis on the Office on Women's Health highlights the health needs of women in a very visible way.
The Office coordinates women's health efforts throughout H-H-S, including the social services side of the department in the aging and violence against women initiatives. Visit the Office's Web site, www.4woman.gov. It's a treasure trove of information about women's health issues.
Our budget commits an additional $23.5 million to N-I-H research on women's aging issues. And we've increased funding for breast cancer research at the National Institutes of Health by $55 million. These kinds of research will help not only American women, but women everywhere.
I began with a quote from John Kennedy, a Democrat. Let me close with a quote from a Republican, our current President, George W. Bush.
In a speech a couple of months ago to the American College of Cardiology, the President said - and I quote - "Modern medicine continues to bring a revolution of hope and dignity into countless lives . Just as innovative approaches in medicine spur new breakthroughs, a new approach in Washington offers the hope that we will share the credit for success."
But, said the President, "The real reward will be knowing that we have helped put the healing powers of modern medicine within the reach of all who need them."
This Administration is committed to helping to put those healing powers within the reach of all Americans - and to extending a hand of help to suffering women throughout the world.
We cannot do this alone. The Global Health Council is a vital partner in this effort, and we thank you for allowing us to join with you as we seek to build healthier lives at home and abroad. I look forward to partnering with you in an even closer way.
Thank you again, and I'm glad to take some questions.