[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 734 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 734

     Recognizing the importance of frontline health workers toward 
 accelerating progress on global health and saving the lives of women 
                 and children, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 18, 2012

 Mrs. Lowey submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Recognizing the importance of frontline health workers toward 
 accelerating progress on global health and saving the lives of women 
                 and children, and for other purposes.

Whereas United States investment in maternal and child health has resulted in 
        dramatic successes, reducing under-5 preventable child deaths from 12 
        million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010;
Whereas strong health systems and access to health care in developing countries 
        are vital for these successes to continue and to ensure that the United 
        States investment in global health programs is most effective;
Whereas millions of families live beyond the reach of hospitals and clinics and 
        can only be served by frontline health workers, who are the backbone of 
        effective health systems;
Whereas frontline health workers provide families with access to a range of 
        simple, affordable, life-saving care to help prevent and treat 
        infections, improve nutrition, increase coverage of vaccines, ensure 
        healthy outcomes for mothers and newborns, and fight diseases like 
        tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV;
Whereas frontline health workers deliver advice and services to patients in 
        their homes and in clinics, serving as councilors, educators, and 
        treatment providers, and are the first and often the only point of 
        contact to the health care system for millions of people, especially in 
        remote and rural areas;
Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, there are 57 countries with 
        critical health workforce shortages, most of which are in sub-Saharan 
        Africa and South Asia, regions that also have the greatest share of the 
        global disease burden and the highest number of preventable deaths;
Whereas, despite the key role of frontline health workers, the World Health 
        Organization estimates a shortage of at least 1 million frontline health 
        workers to achieve the 2015 Millennium Development Goals;
Whereas the impact of investments in frontline health workers has been well 
        documented, such as in Ethiopia where a commitment to investing in 
        frontline health workers led to a doubling of the rates of young 
        children who have been immunized, treated for pneumonia, and been given 
        Vitamin A to prevent blindness, and in Malawi, where under-5 child 
        deaths have been reduced 59 percent since 1990;
Whereas partnerships with the private sector in training, equipping, and 
        deploying frontline health workers have helped countries achieve 
        progress on global health goals;
Whereas, despite gains in access to health care, 1 billion of the world's nearly 
        7 billion people will never visit a health worker, including 350 million 
        children;
Whereas every day more than 20,000 children in the developing world perish, 
        mostly from preventable causes, and 800 women die due to pregnancy 
        complications, and every year, millions of adults succumb to the ravages 
        of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other treatable and preventable 
        chronic diseases;
Whereas the presence of trained and supported frontline health workers is key to 
        the success of United States global health programs and, in particular, 
        key to reducing maternal and child deaths, as they are one of the most 
        cost-effective ways to save lives;
Whereas training frontline health workers helps to develop sustainable local 
        capacity and strengthens and rebuilds health systems in a country 
        because frontline health workers are drawn from the communities they 
        serve and are less likely to migrate than higher skilled categories of 
        health workers; and
Whereas, despite the importance of health workers to successful implementation 
        of United States global health programs and to improved health outcomes 
        for those served by these programs, the United States does not have a 
        comprehensive health workforce strategy: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the important role of frontline health 
        workers in saving lives and fostering a healthier, more secure, 
        and more prosperous world;
            (2) commends the progress made by the United States in 
        helping to build local capacity and to save lives in the 
        world's most vulnerable communities by training and supporting 
        frontline health care workers; and
            (3) calls on all relevant Federal agencies, including the 
        United States Agency for International Development, the 
        Department of State, and the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, to develop a coordinated and comprehensive health 
        workforce strengthening strategy for increasing equitable 
        access to qualified health workers in developing countries, 
        particularly in underserved areas, with a strategic focus on 
        frontline health workers.
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