For good policy, forget party
When Ruhakana Rugunda looks at his native Uganda, he sees a nation with many health needs, but one that has also made progress in recent years. The country needs better sanitation to fight diarrheal diseases, better vaccination rates to fight infectious diseases, and improved lifestyle and health care systems to fight rising chronic ailments. But the nation has also made strides, fighting its biggest killer, malaria, by distributing 21 million mosquito nets this year alone, coupled with insecticide spraying and faster diagnosis. Though preventable diseases are still the top health threat, Uganda has an active vaccination campaign, has reduced mother-to-fetus transmission of HIV, and is working to lower maternal mortality. Rugunda, Uganda’s minister of health, was at Harvard this week to share his country’s health care victories and seek ways to address its areas of continued need as part of an intensive, five-day leadership forum for similar officials from 11 nations. “Health knows no...