If you regularly read the ONE Blog, it’s safe to say you have an certain interest in global health policy and the United States’ role in it. But how does the public as a whole feel? Public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation recently conducted a survey of 1,205 adults to gauge certain areas of global health spending, how aid should be distributed, and how the current Administration and Congress is doing in these efforts.

Below are a couple findings from the poll I found interesting. You can read the full report here.

More of the public prefers an emphasis on health infrastructure rather than fighting specific diseases. While the public continues to support U.S. spending on a variety of specific health-related programs in developing countries, when asked to rank the importance of two different approaches, 58 percent say it is more important to emphasize programs that help countries build their health system infrastructure, under the theory that stronger health systems can better handle a variety of problems. In contrast, 36 percent say it is more important to emphasize efforts to fight specific diseases like AIDS and malaria because efficient methods for treating such diseases already exist and can save large numbers of lives.

Most Americans support current U.S. spending to improve health conditions in poorer nations despite the economic recession. Two thirds of the public supports maintaining (32%) or increasing (34%) spending on global health, while a quarter say the country is spending too much. Also, 55 percent of Americans agree that “U.S. spending to improve health in developing countries helps protect the health of Americans by preventing the spread of epidemics to the U.S.” Four in 10 disagree, saying such spending “helps people in those countries but doesn’t do much to protect Americans’ health.”

The live webcast on the U.S. government’s strategy for combating the global TB epidemic will start in approximately 30 minutes. You can watch and participate here.

Here’s a note from the Kaiser Family Foundation, who’s hosting the broadcast:

TB is preventable and curable, but today remains one of the world’s major causes of illness and death. Most of those affected are in developing countries, particularly those in Asia and Africa. The U.S. stepped up its efforts to address TB in the late 1990s, and funding has increased – rising from $87 million in fiscal year 2004 to $175 million in 2009. Now is a particularly important time to look at the U.S. role in combating TB moving forward. The Administration is currently planning a broad, new Global Health Initiative, which will focus on integration and coordination of the U.S. global health portfolio and Congress, through PEPFAR Reauthorization, has mandated the development of 5-year TB strategy. Both these processes are underway.

Today at 1 p.m. ET, the Kaiser Family Foundation, as part of its In Focus series, will hold a live, interactive webcast with experts to discuss the status of the TB strategy, how it fits into the overall global health initiative, and key challenges on the horizon. In addition to featuring Cheri Vincent from USAID and Dr. Christine Sizemore from NIH, we’ll hear from Christine Lubinski of the Center for Global Health Policy and Dr. Robin Wood from the University of Cape Town about his experience on the ground in South Africa. Full details about the event are here: .

Email questions to us now or during the live webcast at infocus@kff.org.

-Jen Kates, The Kaiser Family Foundation

We wanted to be sure to let you know about a live, interactive webcast hosted by the Kaiser Family Foundation tomorrow at 1 pm EST. The webcast will feature a panel of experts discussing U.S. strategy to combat the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic.

According to Kaiser,

TB, a preventable and curable disease, remains one of the world’s major causes of illness and death, resulting in close to 2 million deaths in 2007. The majority of TB cases and deaths are concentrated in developing countries, particularly those in Asia and Africa. During this live webcast, the panel will discuss the U.S. government’s global response to TB, including the status of a Congressionally-mandated five-year global TB strategy, how such a strategy will be integrated into the administration’s new, broader, Global Health Initiative, and key challenges that remain – such as the link between HIV and TB – in combating the disease around the world.

We’ll post the link to the webcast when it becomes available approximately 30 minutes before it begins.