(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers began on Thursday, concentrating on ‘The Culture of ‘Salus’ and Welcome at the service of Man and the Planet’.
Bramble Badenach-Nicolson spoke with Dr Ariel Pablos-Mendez and Mr Mark Brinkmoeller, two USAID (US Agency for International Development) officials about the importance of the conference and USAID’s involvement.
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Previous years have focused on a specific issue, such as autism or AIDS. This year, however, the theme is much broader: man and the planet.
Mr Brinkmoeller described the council as “covering a wide swath of Catholic concerns… tying them to health”. He said it was a “comprehensive 360 degree look at the concerns of the church… and of Pope Francis”.
Dr Pablos-Mendez, head of USAID’s Global Health Bureau, located a particular issue being addressed this year, namely the prevention of infant mortality. “17 million children died in 1970”, he said. A further 12 million died in 1990. “Today, less than 6 million have died”. He was optimistic saying “we are 80 per cent of the way there”.
Now the focus is on newborns and their mothers. Dr Pablos-Mendez hopes that if USAID and the Vatican work together, they might be able to save one million babies’ lives by 2020.
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