U.S. can help halt spread of diseases in Africa

Lisa Meadowcroft, executive director of the American affiliate of the African Medical and Research Foundation: “Health is a global issue relevant to everyone, everywhere. In the age of globalization, we need to recognize this vital fact and consider its implications. Even more, we need to figure out what it means to be a global system.”

2:51 p.m., March 23, 2006--Although globalization has transformed economies around the world and has allowed for more personal mobility, it also has helped spread diseases, Lisa Meadowcroft, executive director of the American affiliate of the African Medical and Research Foundation, said at UD Wednesday evening, March 23.

“Health is a global issue relevant to everyone, everywhere,” she said. “In the age of globalization, we need to recognize this vital fact and consider its implications. Even more, we need to figure out what it means to be a global system.”

During her lecture, Meadowcroft said there is recognition among American and European leaders that responding to challenges in Africa and other parts of the developing world is in their best interest.

Meadowcroft, formerly of the International Rescue Committee, said the health care system in Africa lacks the personnel and resources to function at an appropriate level.

“Many ministries of health can only allocate about $10 per person per year to health, and that includes job salaries and administration costs,” she said. “Moreover, 80 percent of the better equipped hospitals are in cities, while 80 percent of Africa's population lives in rural areas.”

Meadowcroft said 40 million people around the world have HIV, with 26 million of them living in Africa. Although the country makes up less than 15 percent of the world's population, 60 percent of those infected with HIV/AIDS in the world live in Africa.

“The human toll of HIV/AIDS in Africa is startling,” she said. “Last year alone, 2.4 million people died. Imagine. Imagine the pain, grief and suffering of African families trying to come to terms with losing so many of their loved ones, then imagine having to deal with the grief and suffering along with all the extraordinary economic burdens caused by HIV/AIDS.”

Meadowcroft said the disease is destroying families and is a threat to world security. By 2010, it is estimated that more than 20 million children will be orphaned because of HIV/AIDS. Meadowcroft also discussed the devastating affects of malaria on African economies and the strain it puts on health care resources even though it is a preventable disease.

Meadowcroft said the avian flu could potentially become the worst pandemic the world has ever seen and said it is in the U.S. government's best interest to protect Africa from the avian flu before it starts.

“Africa is a continent rich in natural resources and those resources could be useful and very valuable to the U.S.,” she said. “Countries like Nigeria and Sudan, for example, could become significant energy suppliers to the U.S., helping us to relieve our dependency on oil in the Middle East.”

Meadowcroft: “Can you imagine the reaction here if suddenly we found ourselves faced with epidemic that began killing tens of thousands of Americans every week?”

Meadowcroft said the violence, political instability and poverty in many of these countries prevents the U.S. from establishing an economic relationship.

Meadowcroft also explained how SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) caused a decrease in tourism and a weakening of the health care system in Asia and said the same problems could arise in the U.S.

“The point of all this is that there are some pretty horrible diseases mutating in the world today,” she said. “And there are new diseases mutating on a regular basis. From the standpoint of U.S. interests, these diseases pose a huge economic and social cost. Can you imagine the reaction here if suddenly we found ourselves faced with epidemic that began killing tens of thousands of Americans every week?”

Meadowcroft said the U.S. must help improve economies in Africa and support its health care systems to help halt the spread of devastating diseases.

Meadowcroft's lecture was the third in UD's spring Global Agenda lecture series, "Hidden Dangers: Global Challenges Below the Radar," all of which are free and open to the public.

The lectures by policymakers, government leaders and foreign affairs experts explore the international issues facing the United States. Topics include the affects of war on children and the developing world, war crimes, national security and global relations.

The next lecture will be Wednesday, April 5, with Gail Luft, co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security. Luft is co-chairperson of the Set America Free Coalition, an organization that analyzes the economic implications of the United State's dependence on foreign oil.

Organized by Ralph Begleiter, UD's Rosenberg Professor of Communication and distinguished journalist in residence, the series is cosponsored by the University of Delaware and the World Affairs Council of Wilmington and is intended to investigate the complexities of global affairs.

For more information on the speakers and their lecture topics, visit [www.udel.edu/global]. For general information on the series, call the Department of Communication at (302) 831-8041.

Article by Julia Parmley, AS '07
Photos by Duane Perry

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