2 days Ago
The safety and security of our nation and its citizens isn’t distant or theoretical for military families. As a veteran, military spouse and mother of a service member, national security isn’t a policy debate to me — it’s personal. Maintaining a robust and modern military means keeping our armed forces healthy and strong.
We need the World Health Organization (WHO) to protect the health of our service members and, in turn, ensure military readiness. The WHO is the world’s best defense against the spread of disease, fostering collaboration between countries to monitor outbreaks and guide the global response. By all accounts, the WHO has been a success.
Global vaccination efforts led by the WHO have helped save more than 150 million lives, including more than 100 million infants . Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S.
from the WHO, jeopardizing its work. As someone who believes in fiscal responsibility, I understand the temptation to stop paying dues. I would contend, however, that remaining a member is the most cost-effective choice.
Disease prevention costs far less than the response to outbreaks once they reach our shores. For instance, in 2019, the state of Washington spent $2.3 million to contain a measles outbreak that began with a single traveler returning from abroad.
The WHO helps prevent such outbreaks by vaccinating vulnerable populations worldwide, therefore reducing the risk to the U.S. By supporting global health, the WHO saves taxpayer dollars while safeguarding public health and national security.
As a combat veteran who treated the sick and wounded overseas and as a nurse focused on disease prevention, I strongly believe that leaving the WHO puts our country’s health, economy and national security at risk. Every time we deploy our servicemen and women overseas, we put them in danger — from combat, disease exposure, environmental hazards and psychological stresses. The WHO is one of our best tools to help protect them.
Thanks to the WHO’s efforts to eradicate malaria, 44 countries are malaria-free. That matters to the more than 120,000 active-duty military personnel in Virginia . And it matters to all of us.
A healthy military is essential to mission readiness. The WHO’s global health efforts play a direct role in protecting not only our military but all Americans. With more than 35 years in health care, I have seen firsthand how public health agencies save lives.
From vaccinating against malaria and dengue fever to tracking drug-resistant tuberculosis, the WHO works to eradicate deadly diseases. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative — a project of the WHO — has been instrumental in reducing global polio cases by more than 99%. We can be the generation that ends diseases such as polio.
Sign up for Viewpoints, an opinion newsletter But the WHO is more than a public health organization; it is also an effective peacekeeping tool and sound investment in global stability. As a military spouse and mom, I believe we should make every effort to avoid sending troops abroad. Countries that are healthy and not ravaged by disease are more stable and less susceptible to violence.
With a presence in most 193 member countries, the WHO provides disease surveillance, as well as networks of health professionals and supply chains where troops are deployed. Leaving the WHO will not only have grave effects on public health but will weaken our influence and cede ground to authoritarian powers such as China and Russia. Maintaining our involvement means keeping our seat at the table as a world leader in health and innovation.
For our military, our families and our economy, I’m asking members of Congress, including U.S. Rep.
Jennifer Kiggans, to call on the Trump administration to rejoin the World Health Organization and help ensure a safer, stronger America. Janice Hawkins of Chesapeake is a clinical nurse specialist and certified global nurse consultant. She is a retired Army nurse and veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
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