Congressman Barney Frank Meets with Representatives from Plan

Plan Staff Meets with Congressman Barney Frank Washington, D.C.

A delegation of health experts representing Plan International offices in Latin America, Asia and Africa met with Congressman Barney Frank at his Washington, D.C. office in the Rayburn Building just hours before the House passed the historic Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Representatives from Plan were visiting the United States to attend the premier American Public Health Association’s Annual Meeting in Pennsylvania to deliver eight presentations on their work in the area of children’s health and well-being.

Congressman Frank, who represents the fourth district of Massachusetts and is Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, took time to discuss with the group several successful Plan-led health programs underway in the areas of HIV and AIDS, malaria, nutrition, and water and sanitation in their respective countries.

"It's great to hear from health experts working on the front lines in developing countries to learn more about how US foreign aid is being put to work to help support innovative projects addressing child survival and community development," said Congressman Frank.

For several of the Plan representatives, this was their first visit to the United States. They expressed excitement about touring the Capitol and witnessing the wheels of government in action. Ronnie Hara, a Plan technical health advisor from Lilongwe, Malawi said he found the trip "fascinating and he was pleased that the Congressman was so interested in Plan's community-based HIV prevention and treatment program in his country."

Plan uses a unique child-centered methodology to integrate physical, mental and psychosocial elements of health and development into each program. In one district in Senegal, for example, where Plan implemented a community-based strategy to reduce malaria-related deaths in children between 2006 and 2008, rates have dropped from 39% to 0%.

In Sierra Leone, over 2,500 youth were trained through clubs, sport, and street theater in how to better prevent malaria-related illness and mortality in their communities. Because of their efforts, community-wide participation in malaria prevention shot up from a very low percentage to 80%.

"At Plan, we believe public health strategies that include the participation of children and the entire community, have a greater chance of yielding positive results, especially for the long term," said Luis Tam, Plan USA's Senior Public Health Advisor.

Congressman Frank was particularly interested in Plan's work in Africa. In March of 2008, Chairman Frank led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to Cape Verde, South Africa and Ghana to meet with government officials, civil society leaders, and representatives of the private sector to discuss issues of economic development, impediments to poverty reduction and the role of the international financial institutions in these countries.