Dear Fellow ASTMH Members,
To state the obvious: We are living through an extraordinary time, as the “Golden Era” of global health is suddenly unraveling before our eyes. Even a month ago, who could have imagined the lightning speed with which the U.S. government would withdraw funding for research and programs aimed at HIV, TB and malaria, as well as emerging outbreaks of Ebola, avian influenza and measles, and myriad other diseases and environmental hazards.
If left unchallenged, this epic shift could not only result in untold harm to children and adults in low and low-middle income countries but right here at home.
No doubt many of you who are U.S. citizens have already written to your elected representatives. This remains a crucial channel of communication. However, at the request of ASTMH leaders, I would also like to encourage
all ASTMH members—both here and abroad—to engage with other networks and communities, including neighbors and friends, schools, service groups, houses of worship, and the list goes on.
For starters, each of us has personal experiences that originally motivated us to pursue careers and dedicate our time and talent to work in tropical medicine and global health. Such stories, shared from the heart, can have tremendous power and need not inflame partisan divides. They can also educate and inspire thoughtful questions and dialog.
Writing a short opinion piece or commentary for a local newspaper or online platform is one way to connect and share our experience (for an example,
click here to see this excellent piece recently published by Jim LeDuc in Galveston County's
The Daily News, Texas' oldest newspaper).
Offering to meet in person with a local forum is another way to touch the hearts and minds of other people. In doing so, you may discover you have more in common with them than you ever imagined, especially with respect to compassion and aid for people far less fortunate than ourselves.
Speaking for myself, I have tremendous faith in ASTMH members to use not just scientific facts but emotional truth and lived experience in communicating our vision and values to new audiences. Please thoughtfully consider this request. If there was ever a time to engage with others, the time is now.
Sincerely yours,
Claire Panosian Dunavan, MD, DTM&H (London), FIDSA, FASTMH
Past-President, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2008)
Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Emeritus-Recalled
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA