Tommy Thompson Talks “Medical Diplomacy” with NH ONE Members

Jun 26th, 2007 1:00 PM EST
By matthew.bartlett

Last night, Gov. Tommy Thompson came to Hanover, New Hampshire, to address a group of Republican voters and let them know why he wants to be the next president of the United States.

Many ONE members best know Gov. Tommy Thompson as President Bush’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, and are very familiar with his work as the first head of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.

I was standing with a few members of the Dartmouth College Republicans, many wearing ONE bands themselves, when Gov. Thompson came over and saw my ONE pin. Before I could say anything, Gov. Thompson asked me if I had a ONE band for him. I laughed and gave him one that he immediately put on.

During his stump speech, Gov. Thompson talked about his work with the Bush administration and how he was the first Sec. of HHS to travel outside of the country to places in Africa and in Afghanistan. Gov. Thompson shared a story about going to an impoverished area in Afghanistan where there was a hospital with no running water or electricity. He then came home and talked with “Powell, Condi and Rumsfeld” and got money to build a hospital that was able to treat people, especially expecting mothers, in a clean, safe, and humane way. He described to the room, the first day that hospital opened and how the people of the area loved America, and loved what the American people had helped provide for them.

Gov. Thompson then spoke about how he would like to outfit two giant cruise liners with 1,000 medical beds a piece. He would help enlist the best young and idealists American doctors to travel on these boats around the globe stopping in at impoverished ports in places like Ethiopia and Somalia to help treat the sick and poor. He described the American flag waving in the wind as these boats would dock, and told the crowd how it would help those in need and show the world exactly the type of great nation that the United States is. He called his plan, “Medical Diplomacy,” and stressed the need for America to continue to take a leading role in efforts like basic education and basic survival healthcare in the developing world.

After the event I was able to talk with Gov. Thompson and thank him for his past efforts, and for remembering the world’s poorest people in his own campaign for president. He thanked me, and the ONE Campaign, and told me that he also has an entire plan to fight global malaria that he wants to talk about.

Last night was just another example of the growing movement of Americans that realize we can change the world and save lives in the developing world - you don’t have to belong to a certain political party to do so, you just have to care.

TAGS: The ONE Blog

52 Comments

Stevensays: Jun 27th, 2007 5:51 PM EST

June 27, 2007 at 5:51 pm

Richard Feachman was the first (and only April 07 only) head of th Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. We need to speak with candidates and show respect, but at the same time we have to be firm and check our facts. It would be misleading to say Thompson was the head of the Global Fund and may bias the perceptions of ONE Voters.

Medical diplomacy is a great idea, it was actually used to an extent after the Tsunamis in late 2004, but then was discontinued unfortunately.

Matthewsays: Jun 27th, 2007 8:20 PM EST

June 27, 2007 at 8:20 pm

Sec. Thompson was elected Chairman of the Board of the Global Fund on Jan. 31, 2003. He had been the first US delegate to the Global Fund since it started in 2002.

I did not mean to be misleading with respect to Gov. Thompson’s work with the Fund, or offend the work of the Fund itself, and apologize if there was confusion.

Tommy Thompson Talks “Medical Diplomacy” with NH ONE Members

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