When the Ebola outbreak shattered parts of West Africa and a handful of cases surfaced in the United States, the world was again reminded that a disease anywhere can become a disease everywhere. Yet infectious agents are only one dramatic example, not just of how interconnected our planet has become, but also of the valuable lessons to be learned from looking beyond our own borders.
Globally, the widespread use of vaccines counts as one of the great public health success stories of all time, helping to cut the death rate for children under age five in half; yet in the United States and in Europe, a strong anti-vaccine sentiment is growing. Food insecurity and malnutrition exist in both the richest and the poorest countries on Earth, but local conditions influence the origins of the problem and help guide the solutions. Likewise, despite differences in their settings, the hardest-to-serve communities of Camden, New Jersey, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, are both pioneering globally celebrated health extension worker programs to address barriers in health care delivery.
Contact and conversation across borders are essential not only to diminish shared threats, but also to encourage innovative approaches to interrelated challenges and to foster creative collaboration. Those are touchstones of the second annual Spotlight Health, which convenes in Aspen, Colorado, this June to kick off the Aspen Ideas Festival. The integrated, two-and-a-half-day agenda at the Aspen Institute brings speakers from around the world together to probe the cutting-edge health issues of our times.
By putting aside boundaries between “domestic health” and “global health,” Spotlight Health creates the conditions necessary for richer dialogue to take place and new solutions to arise. Participants come from around the world, not to pursue one-size-fits-all solutions, but rather to shine a light on issues from many angles. Our hope is that the connections made during Spotlight Health will spark ongoing conversation and collaboration throughout the year, including within the pages of Health Affairs Blog which will feature occasional pieces by Spotlight Health presenters.
Shared Experiences
Spotlight Health seeks out and celebrates geographic, socioeconomic, cultural, and disciplinary diversity, recognizing these as pathways to fresh ideas; and it involves both U.S. and non-U.S. speakers in almost every session. This approach not only frames our differences, but also reminds us of our common humanity.
Take, for example, one of the sessions at last year’s Spotlight Health: “Allies in Public Health: China and the U.S. Share the Stage.” At a time when tensions ran high between the two countries, the heads of their leading public health agencies were paired on stage to explore mutual interests. The event also brought together representatives from the U.S., the Middle East, and Africa to examine “Women’s Health: The Unfinished Revolution” through their different lenses.
This year, food security will be high on the agenda, with farmers, corporate spokespeople, and researchers talking about what has to happen to ensure that all people—in developed and developing countries alike—have sustained access to safe and healthy food. Another avenue investigated at Spotlight Health is the business of health, which has the potential to bring nations closer together or push them further apart. Contention over the tariffs, packaging, and warning labels required on cigarettes sold on the international market illustrate how health considerations can influence trade agreements. Dramatic differences in pharmaceutical pricing raise questions about how to make life-saving medicines available in even the most resource-poor setting.
Recognizing that innovation thrives in many settings, Spotlight Health seeks out pioneers in resource-challenged locales to share lessons from their on-the-ground experiences. The 2014 panel, “The Last Mile: Reaching Out to the Underserved,” presented strategies to reach isolated communities in Africa and India and on Native American lands, including the broader use of community health workers and other paraprofessionals. This year, we’ll be looking at groundbreaking design ideas from poorer countries, including the new 200,000-square-foot hospital in Haiti that is being powered by 1,800 solar panels. These kinds of projects can teach policymakers and practitioners around the world how to get things done.
Health And Security
Global exchanges can also contribute to a better understanding of the link between health and security. Signs of climate change and environmental upheaval are everywhere; and they are increasingly recognized as a disruptive force on development goals, access to natural resources, and even national sovereignty.
Water issues likewise have health and security implications. While technical advances have brought clean and safe drinking water to some rural communities that have long struggled without it, drought and violence are tearing it away from others. The political dimensions of water are as evident in the U.S.—witness the battles between the agriculture and fishing industries in California—as they are in the Middle East, where a peace settlement won’t happen until agreement is reached on water rights. A healthier global population requires clean water and effective sanitation, and our presenters will delve into inventive ways to provide it.
In keeping with the Aspen Institute tradition of bringing together stakeholders from many disciplines, Spotlight Health promotes learning through cross-fertilization. Among dozens of presenters will be representatives from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors; from the worlds of research and practice; and from science, humanities, and the arts. By including global and domestic perspectives in that mix, Spotlight Health offers a creative market of ideas that fosters out-of-the-box thinking and stretches the dialogue toward concrete solutions.
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