When it comes to infectious diseases, teeth It's a small world after all. Serious diseases such as COVID-19, AIDS, and mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) can spread rapidly around the world and threaten lives and livelihoods. The United States plays an important role in working with global partners to prevent the spread of these diseases.
Today, in conjunction with World Health Day (April 7), WatchBlog will highlight recent efforts by leading U.S. agencies to prevent the spread of the disease and the challenges facing those efforts.
USAID supports COVID-19 vaccination efforts in indigenous communities in Guatemala
USAID efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. government has pledged to help achieve the global goal of vaccinating 70% of the world's population against the disease. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is obligated to pay an estimated $904 million as of March 2023 to help 125 countries prepare and deliver vaccines.
For example, in Malawi, USAID assistance helped provide the “cold chain” equipment needed to store vaccines at the required temperatures. In South Africa, USAID implementing partners created an app that shows users the nearest vaccination center and the brands of vaccines offered there.
However, despite these efforts, as of July 2023, nearly two-thirds of the countries to which USAID provided assistance had not reached 50% vaccination coverage. USAID and donor country officials highlighted a number of challenges that prevented the 70% goal from being achieved. Others reported challenges such as misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. Some have pointed out that there is a shortage of medical workers trained to administer vaccines. In some cases, it has also been difficult to provide vaccines to remote areas.
The video below discusses some of these challenges and lessons learned. USAID officials told us They plan to share lessons learned from these issues to help partners prepare for future pandemics.
Staffing has been an issue even before the response to the new coronavirus infection.They have been seen in global HIV/AIDS programs
Even before COVID-19, staffing challenges persisted in response to other global health crises such as HIV/AIDS.
Over the past two decades, the U.S. government has provided more than $100 billion to fight HIV infection and AIDS around the world through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. The PEPFAR program has prevented millions of new HIV infections and saved more than 20 million lives in more than 50 countries.
However, at our company, December 2022 Report Regarding the State Department's administration of the program, we found that staffing vacancies may hinder efforts. For example, 70% of PEPFAR headquarters positions are vacant, and 89% of key international positions are vacant. This created workload and morale issues for PEPFAR staff. It also uncovered longstanding coordination challenges between state headquarters and overseas officials. This could also impede PEPFAR's ability to carry out life-saving operations.
Although states have taken steps to improve coordination, they have not identified and addressed the root causes of PEPFAR staffing shortages. Learn more about state challenges and our recommendations in managing PEPFAR programs. report.
The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief provided funding for HIV/AIDS response efforts in these countries in fiscal year 2022.
Overall picture
To meet the challenges of future global health crises, U.S. government agencies need the right number of employees with the right skills and leadership. This will help foster a positive organizational culture and strengthen America's rapid response efforts. USAID's Office of Global Health manages crisis response and other efforts.but we found Managing a secretariat presents some of the same challenges (as discussed above).
Tailor your resources to your needs. Two of the department's three strategic priorities that receive the most funding, child and maternal mortality prevention and combating infectious diseases, require far fewer staff than the third, HIV/AIDS. is engaged. We believe the Department needs a workforce plan to better align staffing and funding and assess future staffing needs.
leadership. According to secretariat officials, the actions of passive leaders without accountability are also a persistent problem. The Secretariat has taken some initial steps to address these issues. However, we believe a more comprehensive approach is needed.
Learn from the past. It also found that the department had not documented lessons learned from COVID-19 or evaluated its performance at a department-wide level. Doing so is key to improving the response to global health emergencies.
Examples of programs subsidized by the Department of Global Health
Learn more about our efforts Read USAID's Office of Global Health our report.
- GAO's fact-based, bipartisan information helps Congress and federal agencies improve government. WatchBlog allows us to contextualize GAO's efforts a little more for the public. Check out more of our posts. GAO.gov/Blog.
