DR. KANIKA TOMALIN | President and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg
It’s been a long month. Head-spinning headlines roll out of D.C. faster than most of us can read them. Many of the decisions ushered in with our recent presidential transition carry far-reaching implications for public health.
While these shifts are largely rooted in philosophical differences that focus on policies and practices at the federal level, their impacts will be felt at a local level, across the country, in St. Pete, and countless other communities like ours.
In this flurry of federal transition where change is being introduced, debated, revised, and at times rescinded at record rates, the inclination to ignore it all is easy and understandable. However, defining decisions that stand to determine our quality of life demand our double click.
The recent executive order to withdraw our nation’s membership in the World Health Organization (WHO) is one such decision.
America’s role as a leader in global health is of particular importance to the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg. As we pursue our vision of creating a community in which good health allows all people to thrive, we understand that aspiration depends on our nation’s access and contribution to the international community that stewards the research, protocols, and practices that guide health and well-being in our boundaryless world.
Collaborations between the Centers for Disease Control, National Institute of Health, and other U.S. public health officials and WHO provide symbiotic benefit for every entity involved.
The nearly 200 nations that comprise WHO come together to fight communicable diseases such as COVID, Zika, HIV, and Malaria. It promotes leading research and remedies for chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
It helped eradicate smallpox, has averted millions of polio cases, and played a huge role in the primary health care framework we use in the U.S. today. Our interactions with our doctors, pharmacists, and healthcare teams are greatly informed and influenced by the work of WHO.
Everything from mitigation of global pandemics to recommendations for the most effective flu vaccines is based on WHO-facilitated consultations with experts throughout the world. We are a healthier nation because of our role in WHO.
Upon WHO’s establishment in 1948, President Harry Truman endorsed its purpose with America’s enthusiastic membership. He said, as a preeminent leader, the U.S. must “give freely of our great knowledge to help liberate men everywhere from the overhanging dread of preventable disease. The World Health Organization can help contribute substantially to the attainment of the healthy, vigorous citizenry which the world needs so badly today and tomorrow.”
Three-quarters of a century later, this remains true. And, in our world that runs on global exchange against a backdrop of complex population health dynamics, the altruistic motivations that guided our initial membership are reinforced by a very real need for America’s access to the answers the international agency provides.
WHO deals with global issues of international magnitude, but those issues manifest between patients and healthcare providers in exam rooms throughout America every day. We need that good work to continue. We need it to elevate to reflect our ever-ascending standards for access to quality care. We need it to innovate in response to ever-evolving threats to population health. And, as America remains one of the greatest nations in the world, we must help craft and create the healthcare solutions required for good health to allow every person in every city to thrive.
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg funds, partners, leads, and advocates for changes in the conditions that drive disparate health outcomes for the people who call St. Pete home. As one of the largest private grantmakers in our community, we are committed to accelerating and amplifying solutions that build a stronger, more inclusive community that reflects the robust array of people who live here.
Access to quality healthcare is a principal determinant of our work and America’s membership in WHO is an important pathway to that access.
(originally published in the Tampa Bay Times)
Dr. Kanika Tomalin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg. In this role, she leads, directs, and integrates all aspects of the Foundation’s internal and external activities and initiatives. Working closely with the Foundation team, Dr. Tomalin creates and executes the Foundation’s strategic plan—overseeing grantmaking, strategic initiatives, and the Center for Health Equity. She guides the organization as a steward of the community’s resources, consistently reporting back to the community and ensuring decisions and plans of action are mission-aligned and based in equity.
