PRI’s ‘The World’ Interviews Surgeon General Carmona on Efforts To Raise U.S. Awareness of Global Health Threats
The global impact of HIV/AIDS "encircles" the U.S. and its "ramifications are rippling," Surgeon General Richard Carmona said on Thursday in an interview on "The World" -- a co-production of BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston. Carmona spoke about his efforts to raise U.S. awareness of global health threats. According to Carmona, the average U.S. resident has a stake in preventing HIV/AIDS worldwide because "civilizations are wiped out, futures are lost, economic catastrophe ensues [and] whole continents are devastated" as the virus spreads. According to Carmona, his role "truly is a global position" and he anticipates presenting this year the "first-ever Surgeon General's call to action on global health," a document that will describe to U.S. residents the importance of global health and emerging infections worldwide. Carmona said that even if diseases, such as tuberculosis and malaria, are not represented within U.S. borders, they have economic, social and health implications and U.S. residents should be concerned about their spread for humanitarian, moral and ethical reasons, as well as for self-preservation (Mullins, "The World," PRI, 11/17).
The complete segment is available online in Windows Media.