May 29, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has pulled together a group of thinkers to contribute to a blog on preparing for a possible pandemic flu.
The recently launched The Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog is a five-week online effort aimed at raising awareness and stimulating discussion about the possibility of such a pandemic hitting the United States.
Several writers with ties to the philanthropic world — including Sister Patricia Talone, vice president of mission services for the Catholic Health Association; the White Courtesy Telephone author Albert Ruesga; the eBay founder and Omidyar Network partner Pierre Omidyar; and the Spare Change author and consultant Nedra Kline Weinrich, — are contributing to the blog.
And some of the early posts are taking aim at the Bush Administration — saying that its policies are weakening efforts to prepare for such a disease.
“The most effective way to help those in the lowest income brackets prepare for this tragedy is to urge this and all administrations to bolster—rather than dismantle—the safety net for the poor,” writes Mr. Ruesga, who also works as vice president at the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, in Washington. “The president’s 2008 budget proposed deep reductions in domestic discretionary spending to continue financing tax cuts for those of us who are well-off.”
What should the charity world be doing to prepare for a possible pandemic flu outbreak? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.
