[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 135 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 135

     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

                             March 21, 2013

   Mrs. Lowey (for herself and Mr. Crenshaw) 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 leadership and investment has led to dramatic successes in 
        global health, including the reduction of child mortality by 40 percent 
        in the last 2 decades, the reduction of new HIV infections by 50 percent 
        in 25 low and middle income countries, a decrease in deaths from malaria 
        by 25 percent, and the halving of maternal mortality rates;
Whereas strong health systems in developing countries, including a well-trained, 
        equipped, and supported health workforce, and access to health care are 
        vital for these successes to continue and to ensure that the United 
        States investment in global health programs is effective and 
        sustainable;
Whereas nations with healthy populations are more likely to be productive, 
        prosperous, and peaceful, while countries with poorer health are more 
        prone to instability, conflict, and extremism;
Whereas the 2010 United States National Security Strategy cites the need to 
        strengthen health systems and invest in global health as key components 
        to countering national security threats;
Whereas frontline health workers are the first and often the only link to health 
        care for millions of people living in the developing world, providing 
        services where they are most needed, especially in remote and rural 
        areas;
Whereas frontline health workers include individuals serving in a range of 
        capacities such as community health workers, midwives, local 
        pharmacists, nurses, and doctors;
Whereas the empowerment of women within the health workforce is critical to save 
        lives;
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, and encourage proper water, sanitation, 
        and hygiene practices;
Whereas the presence of trained and supported frontline health workers is key to 
        the success of United States global health programs, including its 
        efforts to achieve the global goals of ending preventable child deaths 
        and fostering an AIDS-free generation;
Whereas it can cost as little as $300 to train a frontline health worker in 
        crucial life-saving skills, making investments in frontline health 
        workers one of the most cost effective ways to save lives;
Whereas partnerships with faith-based organizations and the private sector in 
        training, equipping, and deploying frontline health workers have helped 
        countries achieve progress on global health goals;
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 training frontline health workers helps to develop sustainable local 
        capacity 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;
Whereas the work of frontline health workers is particularly crucial during 
        natural or complex emergency situations to save lives and to aid 
        communities to recover, rebuild, and become self-reliant;
Whereas the impact of investments in frontline health workers has been well 
        documented, such as in Ethiopia where these investments led to a 
        doubling of the rates of children who have been immunized, treated for 
        pneumonia, and been given Vitamin A to prevent blindness, and in 
        Afghanistan, where they have contributed to an almost fivefold increase 
        of skilled midwives, which has led to an over 10-year gain in life 
        expectancy for women;
Whereas despite the key role of frontline health workers in improving health, 
        advancing peace and security, and spurring economic growth, the World 
        Health Organization estimates a shortage of at least 1,000,000 frontline 
        health workers in the developing world;
Whereas despite gains in access to health care, 1,000,000,000 of the world's 
        nearly 7,000,000,000 people have little or no access to basic health 
        services;
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; and
Whereas despite the importance of frontline 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 global 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 with concrete targets 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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