Global Health

Tennessee Global Health Coalition PSA and Recap

On Monday, Hope Through Healing Hands partnered with the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health to put on a Summer Social for the Tennessee Global Health Coalition. Global Health Coalition PSA from Bill Frist on Vimeo.

Mother-and-child health challenges persist globally

This Mother’s Day, moms in Tennessee and around the world have more to celebrate than ever before. Infant mortality rates are declining in many communities and many countries. Yet even today, where a woman gives birth determines dramatically different odds of survival for her child. We can, and must, change that. A baby in Shelby…

Medicine Serves as a Currency for Peace

Just eight years ago, fewer than 50,000 HIV-positive people in Africa had access to the medicines needed to live. Today, through American-created and -supported programs, almost 4 million people are being treated for as little as 40 cents a day. They are raising their children, building their communities, farming the land and inventing new technologies;…

Frist’s Foreword to the 2011 State of the World’s Mothers Report.

“Working together with developed and developing country partners, we reduced the total number of under-5 deaths worldwide by more than one-third in less than two decades.” When children in developing countries die, we all mourn this loss of life, especially when we know that most of these deaths could have been easily prevented. We are…

Can Africa Make The Cut?

by Raynard Jackson Whenever the U.S. government enters into a state of fiscal austerity, politicians always look for budget cuts from programs they deem to be less important or have little or no constituency. Foreign policy budgets, especially those directed towards Africa seem to always show up near the top of that list. The left…

Using Health as a Currency for Peace

I just had this video made introducing my message of using Health as a Currency for Peace and thought I’d share it with you. Health As A Currency For Peace from Bill Frist on Vimeo.

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: Inveneo Project

See how the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund’s grant to Inveneo is empowering rural and underserved communities in Haiti with information and communications technologies. Their grant will accelerate the development of sustainable, high-speed wireless broadband connectivity to 20 population centers in six rural regions across Haiti, which will in turn stimulate economic growth and support decentralization…

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: YouthBuild IDEJEN Project

See how the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund’s grant to YouthBuild International, partnering with IDEJEN, will put young people back to work in Haiti and give them the skills necessary to rebuild their country. The centers will serve at-risk youth (ages 16–28) by providing them with vocational training in construction and leadership skills for the future….

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: Artisans in Jacmel

See how money from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund has provided sales and marketing support for local artisans. Their funds also helped these local business people rebuild their workshops, damaged during the earthquake. Through our support, artisans were able to complete their order to Macy’s for its exclusive “Heart of Haiti” collection, inspired by the…

Conversation: Exploring Global Health

Tuesday night I was in New York at an event for Harvard Medical School, “Conversation: Exploring Global Health.” Moderated by 60 Minutes’ Byron Pitts, the event was a conversation about the history and direction of global health with Dr. Paul Farmer, who among other things leads the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at…

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund Update

In the ten months since the catastrophic earthquake, the Haitian people have been working towards rebuilding and recovering. But now, a devastating cholera epidemic is spreading, threatening progress. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund is dedicated to funding initiatives that create jobs, teach skills, and assist local businesses. With programs that promote economic opportunity for all…

UPDATE: Haiti Cholera Outbreak

I write to you today a little more optimistic than my last post on the developing disaster in Haiti. I will be keeping on top of the situation there and encourage you to stop by to read updates on my personal website, BillFrist.com. This weekend, I urgently emailed around the medical community, searching for desperately…

Haiti Cholera Outbreak

As the cholera outbreak continues to ravage through Haiti, killing hundreds and inciting terror and riots throughout the country, I’m afraid I may have more bad news. It has come to my attention today that the cholera outbreak is being vastly underreported and underestimated. My sources on the ground in Haiti have estimated that the…

Everyday Life in Somalia

East Africa – The Children’s Famine

As I write this, East Africa is in turmoil. Roughly 12 millions people, almost 5 million of which are children, along the Horn of Africa are experiencing the worst drought in sixty years. Tens of thousands have already died and millions more are at risk, especially children, who are dying at such a rate this…

Medicine as a Currency for Peace Through Global Health Diplomacy

The twenty-first century has seen the rise of a new nexus, one that generates a remarkable opportunity for medicine and health to serve as a powerful currency for peace. Two trends define this nexus. The first is globalization and all the interconnections this phenomenon has produced among populations previously isolated from one another in almost…

Leading the Fight Against Global HIV/AIDS

The following is text of remarks delivered on the Senate floor.  May 14, 2003 – Senate Floor Remarks Mr. President, the size of HIV is about 100 nanometers. That is tiny, microscopic, and invisible to the naked eye. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. If you divide 3 feet, into 1 billion parts, and…

May 2003 Senate Floor Remarks on HIV/AIDS

The following is text of remarks delivered on the Senate floor.  May 13, 2003 – Senate Floor Remarks Mr. President, the sequence we just walked through is very important. The sense of urgency for the HIV/AIDS legislation, for me, really boils down to the fact that every 10 seconds somebody is dying from this little…

January 2003 Senate Floor Remarks on HIV/AIDS

The following is text of remarks delivered on the Senate floor.  Jan. 30, 2003 – Senate Floor Remarks Mr. President, for a few moments before closing tonight–and we have had a very productive day and we will make the more formal announcements in about 15 minutes or so–I take a few moments addressing an issue…