'Reaching the moon' in global public health

Sep 24 2012

Citing President John F. Kennedy's "moon speech" -- in which Kennedy said, "We choose…because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win" -- Ariel Pablos Mendez, USAID assistant administrator for global health, writes in USAID's "IMPACTblog" that the speech "rings true of the promise for global health today." He describes several health improvement efforts, including the Child Survival Call to Action, and says, "For health, 'reaching the moon' will advance human progress." He concludes, "This is a shared vision and opportunity we can all work toward, and neither the moon nor the end to preventable child death are too far away" (9/23).