Earlier this month, the U.S. State and Foreign Operations Senate Subcommittee held a hearing on global health. The purpose of this hearing was to determine the role of U.S. leadership in the global health community as well as the type of approach it should take.

During the hearing, Grammy award-winning founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Sir Elton John, and NY Times best-selling author and controversial California pastor, Dr. Rick Warren, voiced their opinions on the subject. Although these men are of different sexual orientations and come from different areas of the world, both are dedicated to eliminating preventable diseases that seem to be caused by extreme poverty.

At the hearing, Dr. Warren urged the Senate to approach the global health epidemic with new eyes. By highlighting the fact that a minimal amount of the national budget goes to foreign assistance, Dr. Warren told lawmakers to cultivate “the right kind of foreign assistance” so terrorism will be deterred for the next generation in a cost-effective manner.

Dr. Warren also encouraged the Senate to forge a new partnership with NGOs and religious organizations so that less stable countries can be guaranteed a continuous support system until these preventable diseases are eradicated from the Earth.

With 1 percent of the national budget going to foreign aid, Dr. Warren argues that more could be allotted to foreign aid so that the U.S. could better cultivate relations with foreign countries by changing its approach to funding. So often, the U.S. fails to provide long-lasting and substantial aid to foreign countries. By respecting the “culture and history of the country it aims to support” and targeting “the upstream causes of ill-health” like poverty, the U.S. can change its approach and make a greater impact.

While Dr. Warren highlighted a different approach to solving the problem of global health, Sir Elton John focused on a specific disease to which he feels personally connected.

Motivated by the despair he saw many sub-Saharan Africans suffering through, Sir John provided a “dignified death to more than 800,000 men, women, and children” as well as food, shelter and education to orphans.

Since the 1990s, Sir Elton John has focused on helping Africans grapple with the effects of HIV/AIDS. This disease that can be transmitted with the exchange of bodily fluids is rampant throughout the African continent due to impoverished conditions in communities.

At the hearing, John urged world leaders to de-stigmatize AIDS. Historically, HIV/AIDS has been seen by mainstream citizens as a part of the LGBTQI community. Because of that, many leaders view this disease as preventable by nature of sexual orientation. This stigmatizes those with the disease and makes it difficult to get proper treatment and preventable measures.

– Erin Logan
Sources: C-SPAN, Senate.gov
Photo: ABCNews