IntraHealth International’s senior advocacy and policy advisor, Vince Blaser, will deliver testimony to the US Congress today on the urgent need for greater focus on and investment in strengthening the frontline health workforce in communities with the least access around the world—an intervention critical to maximizing the impact of US global health appropriations.

Blaser will urge the House Appropriations State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee to adopt the Global Health Council’s evidence-based FY 2020 recommendations of $7.05 billion for global health programs at the Department of State and $4.39 billion for USAID; and $435 million for water in all accounts.

Blaser is director of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition. IntraHealth holds the secretariat of the coalition, which advocates for greater, sustained US investment in the frontline health workforce worldwide—a crucial intervention to deliver on all US global health priorities. Blaser will highlight the substantial 9 to 1 return on investment in health, and its tremendous potential to spur women’s economic empowerment, as women make up 70% of the global health workforce. He’ll recommend the subcommittee ask agencies to annually report on their collective efforts to advance the preservice education, recruitment, training, retention, connectivity, and safety of frontline health workers around the world, so future appropriations can be guided toward the highest-impact interventions.

Watch Blaser’s testimony here. 

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