Take Action: Take action to fight preventable disease in sub-Saharan Africa

Take action to fight preventable disease in sub-Saharan Africa

Every day, tens of thousands of people die from preventable disease in sub-Saharan Africa. The impact and rapid spread of diseases like AIDS, malaria and TB have overwhelmed the small number of medical professionals working in the region.

Sub-Saharan Africa needs to at least double its current number of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers to ensure that everyone has access to quality medical care.

Help the people of Africa by urging your Senators to co-sponsor the African Health Capacity Investment Act. This bill proposes allocating financial resources to train, build and retain a strong African healthcare workforce. This is a vital step in making improved access to healthcare a reality. Please act now!

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

Here in the United States, many of us take for granted that when we need medical treatment, it will be readily available.  But around the world, and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, this isn't true.  In Ethiopia, for example, there are just three doctors for every 100,000 people; in the U.S the figure is closer to 300 doctors for every 100,000 people.  And in Africa as a whole, a mere 3% of the world's health workers struggle against all odds to combat 24% of the global disease burden.

This shortage of trained doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers is now recognized as one of the world's greatest challenges in fighting the AIDS pandemic: there simply aren't enough trained health professionals to diagnose and treat the millions of people in need of life-saving AIDS drugs.  Moreover, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 36 African countries, where without significant increases in the number of healthcare workers, it is very unlikely that health-related Millennium Development Goals, such as dramatically reducing child and maternal mortality rates, will be met.

To help address the African healthcare workforce crisis, I am asking you to co-sponsor the African Health Capacity Investment Act (HR 3812/S 3775) and to commit $8 billion dollars over the next five years, including $650 million next year to address the crisis.  Introduced by Senators Durbin, Coleman, Cochran, Feingold, and Representative Lee, the legislation would authorize support to build and retain a healthcare workforce; reduce "brain drain" by paying adequate salaries; increase healthcare worker safety and health care; and expand training and educational opportunities for healthcare workers.

To help make poverty history, the WHO estimates that sub-Saharan Africa needs to at least double its current number of healthcare workers.  As a first step please co-sponsor the African Health Capacity Investment Act (HR 3812/S 3775) and support a commmitment of $8 billion over 5 years to help end this crisis.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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