During a recent visit to Liberia, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was correct when he reaffirmed the federal government’s longstanding commitment to global health security.
“We know that by ensuring that all countries around the world are better prepared to prevent, detect, respond to and control disease outbreaks at the local level,” he said, “we can reduce the threat of international health emergencies.”
Cuts to global health security programs in the president’s proposed budget, however, are a drastic move in the wrong direction.
The vast majority of epidemics and pandemics that could pose a threat to the U.S. begin abroad, merely a flight away. And because there is no effective way to fully insulate our country from epidemics, our best defense is to respond quickly when outbreaks emerge overseas and contain them at their source before they have the chance to spread.
Source: News Now/ Baltimore Sun
