Saving lives through country ownership
Three steps for President Obama's Global Health Initiative to succeed
The Global Health Initiative (GHI) is an opportunity to leverage global health dollars as effectively as possible in a budget where every penny matters. For US investments to be truly sustainable, they need to be driven by what communities need most. In a nutshell, the best way to put ourselves out of the aid business is to help countries build their own hospitals and clinics, hire nurses and doctors, so that they will be ready to take over for good.
In December 2010, Oxfam America President Raymond C. Offenheiser published an article in the winter edition of the Harvard Global Health Review focused on the GHI, and how US efforts should help citizens in country tackle their own health challenges, instead of donors tackling challenges fro them.