The power of numbers is essential in promoting civic change, Nader said. It is crucial to have many voices speaking out against so formidable a problem. There are few links between federally funded research and applied industry research or among the various federal agencies, such as AID, the State Department, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on foreign health issues, he said. Those links need to be strengthened, and new patterns of collaboration need to be developed. Health advocacy groups need to act together to combat global health problems, not act as separate entities.
Collaboration can occur in many ways.
The Princeton Project 55 Tuberculosis Initiative has been described by long-time TB fighters and researchers as one of the world's few impartial TB advocacy groups, he said. In its first year, the initiative met with various agencies and formed important contacts. It now plans to bring together some of those organizations in an advocacy meeting to design a legislative plan involving the energy and work of all the groups involved. As the situation stands, infectious diseases are paralyzing the world, Nader said. The challenge of tuberculosis illustrates both the problems and solutions inherent in global health.