How can international health aid be improved? What role should the U.S. government play in confronting global health challenges? What are Congress's priorities for the reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and how much should be invested in research to help stem the AIDS pandemic? How can we protect 150 million people globally from suffering financial catastrophe each year because of medical bills?

These questions and others were explored at a July 16 Health Affairs briefing on financing and improving global health care. The July/August 2007 Health Affairs, a thematic issue on global health, was released at the briefing, held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The new Health Affairs issue and the briefing were supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

At the briefing, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and coauthor of the original PEPFAR legislation, discussed the future of the program. Economist and Health Affairs deputy editor Philip Musgrove presented new findings from a survey of 89 countries examining the too often impoverishing effect of out-of-pocket health spending on families. Brookings Institution global health expert Amanda Glassman discussed ways to restructure international health aid, and John Stover of the Futures Institute discussed the substantial potential benefits of a first-generation AIDS vaccine with partial efficacy.

Question and Answer segment

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National Press Club briefing in its entirety--Time: 1:41 Size: 493.7MB
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA)--Time: 0:17:31 Size: 86.83MB
Philip Musgrove--Time: 0:18:16 Size: 77.79MB
John Stover--Time: 0:13:58 Size: 59.26MB
Amanda Glassman--Time: 0:15:48 Size: 76.82MB
Questions And Answers--Time: 0:33:10 Size: 179.19MB