Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 10/2013

U.S. Health Engagement in Africa: A Decade of Remarkable Achievement—Now What?

J. Stephen Morrison

August 2013

Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract

In the past decade, there has been a steep and historic expansion of U.S. health engagement in Africa, principally through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). U.S. commitments to global health, of which over 70 percent is directed to Africa, rose from $1.7 billion in FY2001 to $8.9 billion in FY2012. This dramatic shift in U.S. foreign assistance—spurred by the “exceptionalism” of HIV/AIDS—has rested on a consensus that substantial U.S. investments in health in Africa do indeed advance U.S. interests. They fulfill American humanitarian values by saving and enhancing lives; they strengthen health security against common and emerging threats; and they promote the stability and long-term development of vulnerable communities in low-income countries. This report highlights achievements of U.S. global health programs over the past decade and the challenges that remain.