[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 419 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 419

     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

                           September 15, 2015

   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 49 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 47 percent, and the halving of maternal mortality rates;
Whereas strong health systems in developing countries, including a well-trained, 
        well-equipped, and well-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 2015 United States National Security Strategy cites increasing 
        global health security as a national security priority, and well-
        supported and well-trained frontline health workers are critical to 
        building country capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to disease 
        outbreaks;
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 
        saving 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, fight diseases like 
        tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV, and encourage proper water, sanitation, 
        and hygiene practices;
Whereas the presence of properly trained and well-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 and maternal deaths, fostering an AIDS-free generation, and 
        ensuring global health security;
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, humanitarian non-
        governmental organizations, and the private sector in training, 
        equipping, and deploying frontline health workers have helped countries 
        achieve progress on their 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 number of people affected by humanitarian crises has doubled from 
        2004 to 2014 due to an increase in the number of natural disasters, 
        public health emergencies, civil unrests, and armed conflicts around the 
        world; and frontline health workers are a critical and cost-effective 
        component to building country capacity to prevent and respond to 
        humanitarian crises;
Whereas frontline health workers' efforts have been instrumental in saving lives 
        during natural disasters and disease, such as after the devastating 
        April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, by leading the charge to vaccinate over 
        500,000 children to prevent a deadly outbreak of measles, and caring for 
        people confirmed or suspected to have been infected with the Ebola virus 
        during the outbreak;
Whereas health workers provide lifesaving care at great personal risk in 
        conflict settings; and attacks on medical facilities, health workers, 
        and patients have occurred in at least 17 countries undergoing conflict 
        and civil unrest, including Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic 
        of Congo, and others since January 2014;
Whereas despite the key role of frontline health workers in improving health, 
        advancing peace and security, and spurring economic growth, the World 
        Bank and the World Health Organization estimate that 400,000,000 people 
        worldwide do not have access to essential health services;
Whereas the International Labor Organization estimated the global shortage of 
        health workers in 2015 is 10,300,000, including a 7,000,000 health 
        worker deficit in rural areas alone;
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 often 
        preventable chronic conditions (including non-communicable 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 critical role of frontline health workers 
        in achieving core global health goals, including ending 
        preventable child and maternal deaths, ensuring global health 
        security, and achieving an AIDS-free generation;
            (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 workers;
            (3) acknowledges that in the aftermath of natural 
        disasters, disease outbreaks, and conflict, frontline health 
        workers continue to perform critical services to save the lives 
        of mothers and children without access to medicines, equipment, 
        or running water in many cases;
            (4) urges greater global attention and support for local 
        frontline health workers to ensure their ability to respond 
        effectively during humanitarian crises and to safeguard the 
        health of the world's most vulnerable populations, including 
        populations in conflict-affected states; and
            (5) 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, comprehensive health 
        workforce strengthening action plan that is data-driven with 
        concrete targets for increasing equitable access to qualified 
        health workers in developing countries, particularly in 
        underserved areas, to support the Global Human Resources for 
        Health Strategy.
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