Bill Steiger is the new head of the non-profit Malaria No More. During the first Trump administration, he was chief of staff at the United States Agency for International Development. He’s a supporter of the president’s current “America First Global Health Strategy.”
Ben de la Cruz/NPR
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Ben de la Cruz/NPR
To Bill Steiger, the Trump administration’s drastic changes to the global health landscape were “a long time in coming.”
Steiger has helped shape that landscape over the past 25 years. A godson of George H.W. Bush, he got his start during the first Bush administration, including a stint as director of the office of global affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services — the country’s top health diplomat. During the first Trump administration, he was chief of staff at the United States Agency for International Development.
One year into the Trump administration’s reshaping of foreign assistance, Steiger is taking on a new role outside of government. This month, he became CEO of Malaria No More, a non-profit focused on eliminating malaria.
NPR spoke with Steiger about this new era for global health.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You’ve been working in global health for over two decades. What do you make of the drastic changes to the global health landscape?
This emphasis on accelerating what, in the first Trump administration, we called “the journey to self-reliance” is not a new story. Many observers have acknowledged that one of the potential flaws of major U.S. aid programs was that they were open-ended. There wasn’t an emphasis on sustainability, on national financial contributions and on training enough national and local leaders to be able to take over the management of the programs.
These aspects of transition, of sustainability, of self-reliance, are now the policy of the U.S. government. That’s a very positive step.
How does that play out?
Those transitions have to be careful. In many cases, they have to be more gradual because the capacity of national institutions to pay for what donors have been supplying varies greatly from country to country.
There are countries that are ready now to absorb the responsibility and cost. There are going to be others that are poor, more complicated, beset by conflict, where the timelines have to be longer.
Many critics of the dismantling of USAID cited its impact on the U.S. ability to wield “soft power” through foreign assistance. Is America walking away from that kind of influence, as it moves toward the America First Global Health Strategy — emphasizing deals that benefit the U.S. as well.
The America First Global Health Strategy is clear about the links that smart investments can have in both increasing our global health security and economic opportunity for American businesses.
While the levels [of U.S. support] might not be the same as in the past, America isn’t walking away. There’s a promise that the programs that survive are more targeted, more efficient and more tied to U.S.
The fight against malaria continues to be a matter of national interest, with a focus on saving lives. At Malaria No More, the mission is deeply believed in, and new tools and technologies are being developed to combat the disease. Advocacy and translation of complex science play a crucial role in informing policymakers and the public about the potential of these advancements.
One such innovation is the Guardian spatial emanator, designed by SC Johnson, which offers a cost-effective way to protect families from malaria. These small devices emit insect repellent without the need for electricity, making them ideal for use in various settings. With the potential to reduce costs significantly, these tools are a promising addition to existing malaria prevention strategies.
While the fight against malaria faces challenges such as resistance to current tools and complacency in some communities, there is optimism about the possibility of eradicating this ancient killer. Investments in malaria control not only save lives but also stimulate economic growth, making it a win-win situation for all involved. By harnessing new technologies and increasing awareness, the goal of ending malaria within our lifetime is within reach. To ensure that the original HTML tags, images, HTML header, and key points are preserved, we will carefully transfer the content into a WordPress platform while maintaining the integrity of the design and structure. Our team will work to seamlessly integrate the unique content into the WordPress platform, making sure that all elements are retained and displayed correctly. This process will preserve the original look and feel of the content while optimizing it for a WordPress environment.
