IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 135 

Recognizing the importance of frontline health workers toward accelerating 

progress on global health and saving the lives of women and children, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2013 

Mrs. LOWEY (for herself and Mr. CRENSHAW) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the importance of frontline health workers toward accelerating progress on global health and saving 

the lives of women and children, and for other purposes. 

Whereas United States leadership and investment has led to 

dramatic successes in global health, including the reduction of child mortality by 40 percent in the last 2 decades, the reduction of new HIV infections by 50 percent 

in 25 low and middle income countries, a decrease in 

deaths from malaria by 25 percent, and the halving of 

maternal mortality rates; 

Whereas strong health systems in developing countries, including a well-trained, equipped, and supported health 

workforce, and access to health care are vital for these 

successes to continue and to ensure that the United 

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•HRES 135 IH 

States investment in global health programs is effective 

and sustainable; 

Whereas nations with healthy populations are more likely to 

be productive, prosperous, and peaceful, while countries 

with poorer health are more prone to instability, conflict, 

and extremism; 

Whereas the 2010 United States National Security Strategy 

cites the need to strengthen health systems and invest in 

global health as key components to countering national 

security threats; 

Whereas frontline health workers are the first and often the 

only link to health care for millions of people living in the 

developing world, providing services where they are most 

needed, especially in remote and rural areas; 

Whereas frontline health workers include individuals serving 

in a range of capacities such as community health workers, midwives, local pharmacists, nurses, and doctors; 

Whereas the empowerment of women within the health workforce is critical to save lives; 

Whereas frontline health workers provide families with access 

to a range of simple, affordable, life-saving care to help 

prevent and treat infections, improve nutrition, increase 

coverage of vaccines, ensure healthy outcomes for mothers and newborns, and fight diseases like tuberculosis, 

malaria, and HIV, and encourage proper water, sanitation, and hygiene practices; 

Whereas the presence of trained and supported frontline 

health workers is key to the success of United States 

global health programs, including its efforts to achieve 

the global goals of ending preventable child deaths and 

fostering an AIDS-free generation; 

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Whereas it can cost as little as $300 to train a frontline 

health worker in crucial life-saving skills, making investments in frontline health workers one of the most cost effective ways to save lives; 

Whereas partnerships with faith-based organizations and the 

private sector in training, equipping, and deploying frontline health workers have helped countries achieve 

progress on global health goals; 

Whereas according to the World Health Organization, there 

are 57 countries with critical health workforce shortages, 

most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, 

regions that also have the greatest share of the global 

disease burden and the highest number of preventable 

deaths; 

Whereas training frontline health workers helps to develop 

sustainable local capacity in a country because frontline 

health workers are drawn from the communities they 

serve and are less likely to migrate than higher skilled 

categories of health workers; 

Whereas the work of frontline health workers is particularly 

crucial during natural or complex emergency situations to 

save lives and to aid communities to recover, rebuild, and 

become self-reliant; 

Whereas the impact of investments in frontline health workers has been well documented, such as in Ethiopia where 

these investments led to a doubling of the rates of children who have been immunized, treated for pneumonia, 

and been given Vitamin A to prevent blindness, and in 

Afghanistan, where they have contributed to an almost 

fivefold increase of skilled midwives, which has led to an 

over 10-year gain in life expectancy for women; 

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Whereas despite the key role of frontline health workers in 

improving health, advancing peace and security, and 

spurring economic growth, the World Health Organization estimates a shortage of at least 1,000,000 frontline 

health workers in the developing world; 

Whereas despite gains in access to health care, 

1,000,000,000 of the world’s nearly 7,000,000,000 people 

have little or no access to basic health services; 

Whereas every day more than 20,000 children in the developing world perish, mostly from preventable causes, and 

800 women die due to pregnancy complications, and 

every year millions of adults succumb to the ravages of 

AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other treatable and preventable chronic diseases; and 

Whereas despite the importance of frontline health workers to 

successful implementation of United States global health 

programs and to improved health outcomes for those 

served by these programs, the United States does not 

have a comprehensive global health workforce strategy: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms the important role of frontline 

3 health workers in saving lives and fostering a 

4 healthier, more secure, and more prosperous world; 

5 (2) commends the progress made by the United 

6 States in helping to build local capacity and to save 

7 lives in the world’s most vulnerable communities by 

8 training and supporting frontline health care work9 ers; and 

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1 (3) calls on all relevant Federal agencies, in2 cluding the United States Agency for International 

3 Development, the Department of State, and the Cen4 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, to develop 

5 a coordinated and comprehensive health workforce 

6 strengthening strategy with concrete targets for in7 creasing equitable access to qualified health workers 

8 in developing countries, particularly in underserved 

9 areas, with a strategic focus on frontline health 

10 workers. 

Æ 

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