By Michael Miller

Jan. 25, 2016 | Foreign Policy

If you weren’t paying close attention during the president’s final State of the Union speech — and perhaps even if you were — you probably missed the shout out to one of the great foreign policy success of George W. Bush. In a speech that was otherwise criticized for its sunny characterization of perilous times, it was a welcome if brief indication that, from the beginning of his first term, Barack Obama embraced what was then and still is widely viewed as George Bush’s most enduring legacy — the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the subsequent President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). Here, the progress is real and the president’s optimism appropriate.

What the president surely understands is that, more than a decade on, Bush’s vision for defeating global AIDS and malaria is more than a humanitarian success story — it is a foreign policy success story that has profoundly redefined our relationship with sub-Saharan Africa. This success likely has broader implications for America’s standing in the world that are still not fully understood or appreciated. Certainly, President Obama is viewed positively in Africa, in no small part because of his African heritage, but there can be no doubt that he stands firmly on the foundation laid by President Bush.

The fact that the president singled out malaria as worth his and Congress’ special attention in his final year is significant. Although sometimes viewed as a kid brother to the United States’ global AIDS program, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the progress against malaria in the past decade has brought us close to a true milestone of human history. When I began working on malaria at USAID in 2004, the disease killed more than a million people annually — the vast majority of them African children. Since then, deaths have been cut roughly in half, and endemic countries and donors are looking to achieve a state just short of eradication in coming years. One of mankind’s deadliest and most persistent killers is in retreat.

Read the full article on ForeignPolicy.com

By Don Melvin, CNN

Jan. 14, 2016 | CNN

The World Health Organization declared an end Thursday to the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa. But the global health organization cautioned that Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone remain at high risk for additional small outbreaks of the disease and must remain vigilant.

For now, the WHO said in a statement, "all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa."

The organization said its job was not over. More flare-ups were expected, and strong surveillance and response systems would be critical in the months to come, it said.

Liberia was first declared free of Ebola transmission in May 2015, but the virus has been reintroduced twice since then, with the latest flare-up occurring in November. Thursday's announcement came 42 days -- two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus -- after the last confirmed patient in Liberia.

Three hardest-hit countries now have zero cases

"WHO commends Liberia's government and people on their effective response to this recent re-emergence of Ebola," said Dr. Alex Gasasira, the WHO representative in Liberia. "The rapid cessation of the flare-up is a concrete demonstration of the government's strengthened capacity to manage disease outbreaks. WHO will continue to support Liberia in its effort to prevent, detect and respond to suspected cases."

This date marks the first time since the start of the epidemic two years ago that all three of the hardest-hit countries -- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- have reported zero cases for at least 42 days. Sierra Leone was declared free of Ebola transmission on November 7 and Guinea on December 29.

"Detecting and breaking every chain of transmission has been a monumental achievement," said Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general. "So much was needed and so much was accomplished by national authorities, heroic health workers, civil society, local and international organizations and generous partners. But our work is not done and vigilance is necessary to prevent new outbreaks."

Read the full article on CNN.

By Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dec. 30, 2015 | The New York Times

There’s a little plaque by my computer at home that says, “Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.” During 2012, I looked at it a lot — especially in the weeks leading up to one of the biggest speeches of my life.

To give you some background, I’m a practicing Catholic who grew up in Dallas and went to Catholic high school. I cherish quiet time and I’ve never loved being in the spotlight. In other words, I’m a pretty unlikely candidate to become an outspoken advocate for contraceptives.

Yet there I was on my way to Berlin to make the case to the world that we had to put family planning back on the global agenda.

Through my work with our foundation, I have met so many women in the world’s most impoverished places who tell me they lack access to contraceptives. Like parents everywhere, they want to make all of their children’s dreams come true. But without the ability to plan and space their births, they have more children than they can afford to feed or send to school — they feel helpless as their children become trapped in poverty, too. Once I heard their stories, I was determined to help them build a better future.

Read the full article on The New York Times.