Opinion: Congress should embrace strategic health diplomacy

Whether our nation’s foreign policy is grounded in America First or American exceptionalism, improving global health should be a top policy priority of&#x A0;the&#x A0;United States.&#x A0;The&#x A0;recent hantavirus outbreak and evolving Ebola crisis serve as a reminder to Congress that&#x A0;the&#x A0;well-being of Americans is tied to&#x A0;the&#x A0;well-being of people around&#x A0;the&#x A0;globe.
 
 
 
 Two of us, as former U.S. senators, were fortunate to play leading roles in the launch of PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in 2003. Our research at the Bipartisan Policy Center demonstrated that beyond saving 26 million lives and preventing millions of HIV infections, PEPFAR contributed to a positive opinion of the U.S., better socioeconomic indices, and reduced political instability in target countries compared with non-PEPFAR countries. We termed this effect “strategic health diplomacy” — the idea that by addressing global health, America advances its own national strategic interests.Read the rest…