To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Protect Our Health Care Future
Two years after Ebola, the Zika virus is our latest global public health emergency. It’s another wake-up call to legislators that our health care infrastructure needs to be improved.
Why is this important?
The mosquito-borne Zika virus has affected between 440,000 and 1.3 million people in Brazil. Although transmission has not been documented in the United States, the virus has struck returning travelers. Local cases also have emerged in Puerto Rico and 36 other countries or U.S. territories.
In light of recent outbreaks, the number of travelers visiting or returning to the United States with the Zika virus is likely to increase. Short-term strategies for controlling its spread include killing mosquitoes, cleaning up habitats where they breed, encouraging women to consider the advisability of becoming pregnant and restricting travel to countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
But options are slim for some of those who are most at risk. Women in countries with little to no reproductive rights are being told not to get pregnant for two years. In countries like El Salvador, fewer than 10 percent of the population uses birth control, which is hard to obtain and expensive. Abortion laws are so strict that women can be jailed for having a miscarriage. These same countries are placing a huge burden on women who have very little choice. This is a human rights issue and we must combat it.
In the long term, we need an initiative for research, treatment and possible vaccine development. When Ebola broke out in the United States in 2014, it highlighted evidence of inadequate worker protections in a privatized health care system driven by profit. Funding to improve our health care infrastructure remains woefully inadequate, and budget cuts have weakened the ability of our universities and research institutions to develop vaccines and preventive measures.
The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and USAID have requested $1.9 billion in additional funding from Congress for education, research, development, and vector control efforts. Nevertheless, preparations for full protective measures and monitoring should begin immediately, including implementation of mechanical disinfection devices that help stop the spread of mosquitoes through aviation without utilizing harmful pesticides.
In light of recent outbreaks, the number of travelers visiting or returning to the United States with the Zika virus is likely to increase. Short-term strategies for controlling its spread include killing mosquitoes, cleaning up habitats where they breed, encouraging women to consider the advisability of becoming pregnant and restricting travel to countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
But options are slim for some of those who are most at risk. Women in countries with little to no reproductive rights are being told not to get pregnant for two years. In countries like El Salvador, fewer than 10 percent of the population uses birth control, which is hard to obtain and expensive. Abortion laws are so strict that women can be jailed for having a miscarriage. These same countries are placing a huge burden on women who have very little choice. This is a human rights issue and we must combat it.
In the long term, we need an initiative for research, treatment and possible vaccine development. When Ebola broke out in the United States in 2014, it highlighted evidence of inadequate worker protections in a privatized health care system driven by profit. Funding to improve our health care infrastructure remains woefully inadequate, and budget cuts have weakened the ability of our universities and research institutions to develop vaccines and preventive measures.
The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and USAID have requested $1.9 billion in additional funding from Congress for education, research, development, and vector control efforts. Nevertheless, preparations for full protective measures and monitoring should begin immediately, including implementation of mechanical disinfection devices that help stop the spread of mosquitoes through aviation without utilizing harmful pesticides.