0:00:00.940,0:00:04.418
I want to share with you[br]something my father taught me:

0:00:05.321,0:00:07.718
no condition is permanent.

0:00:09.283,0:00:12.167
It's a lesson he shared with me[br]again and again,

0:00:12.191,0:00:15.738
and I learned it to be true the hard way.

0:00:16.590,0:00:19.507
Here I am in my fourth-grade class.

0:00:19.531,0:00:23.265
This is my yearbook picture[br]taken in my class in school

0:00:23.289,0:00:25.001
in Monrovia, Liberia.

0:00:25.514,0:00:29.915
My parents migrated from India[br]to West Africa in the 1970s,

0:00:29.939,0:00:32.387
and I had the privilege[br]of growing up there.

0:00:33.772,0:00:34.922
I was nine years old,

0:00:34.946,0:00:36.708
I loved kicking around a soccer ball,

0:00:36.732,0:00:38.979
and I was a total math and science geek.

0:00:39.003,0:00:43.231
I was living the kind of life[br]that, really, any child would dream of.

0:00:45.280,0:00:47.906
But no condition is permanent.

0:00:48.346,0:00:51.269
On Christmas Eve in 1989,

0:00:51.293,0:00:53.824
civil war erupted in Liberia.

0:00:55.082,0:00:57.036
The war started in the rural countryside,

0:00:57.060,0:01:00.767
and within months, rebel armies[br]had marched towards our hometown.

0:01:00.791,0:01:02.461
My school shut down,

0:01:02.485,0:01:05.957
and when the rebel armies captured[br]the only international airport,

0:01:05.981,0:01:08.466
people started panicking and fleeing.

0:01:09.750,0:01:13.108
My mom came knocking one morning[br]and said, "Raj, pack your things --

0:01:13.132,0:01:14.421
we have to go."

0:01:14.995,0:01:17.224
We were rushed to the center of town,

0:01:17.248,0:01:21.421
and there on a tarmac,[br]we were split into two lines.

0:01:22.633,0:01:25.126
I stood with my family in one line,

0:01:25.150,0:01:27.550
and we were stuffed into the cargo hatch

0:01:27.574,0:01:28.755
of a rescue plane.

0:01:29.374,0:01:32.261
And there on a bench,[br]I was sitting with my heart racing.

0:01:32.285,0:01:34.704
As I looked out the open hatch,

0:01:34.728,0:01:37.567
I saw hundreds of Liberians[br]in another line,

0:01:37.591,0:01:39.527
children strapped to their backs.

0:01:40.514,0:01:43.360
When they tried to jump in with us,

0:01:43.384,0:01:45.743
I watched soldiers restrain them.

0:01:46.691,0:01:48.404
They were not allowed to flee.

0:01:49.177,0:01:50.619
We were the lucky ones.

0:01:51.345,0:01:53.101
We lost what we had,

0:01:53.125,0:01:55.537
but we resettled in America,

0:01:55.561,0:01:58.692
and as immigrants, we benefitted[br]from the community of supporters

0:01:58.716,0:02:00.054
that rallied around us.

0:02:01.932,0:02:03.735
They took my family into their home,

0:02:03.759,0:02:05.086
they mentored me.

0:02:06.096,0:02:08.239
And they helped my dad[br]start a clothing shop.

0:02:08.263,0:02:10.632
I'd visit my father[br]on weekends as a teenager

0:02:10.656,0:02:13.110
to help him sell sneakers and jeans.

0:02:13.134,0:02:15.467
And every time business would get bad,

0:02:15.491,0:02:17.974
he'd remind me of that mantra:

0:02:17.998,0:02:19.923
no condition is permanent.

0:02:20.793,0:02:25.222
That mantra and my parents' persistence[br]and that community of supporters

0:02:25.246,0:02:27.571
made it possible for me[br]to go through college

0:02:27.595,0:02:29.312
and eventually to medical school.

0:02:30.365,0:02:33.104
I'd once had my hopes crushed in a war,

0:02:34.037,0:02:35.305
but because of them,

0:02:35.329,0:02:38.194
I had a chance to pursue my dream[br]to become a doctor.

0:02:39.046,0:02:41.135
My condition had changed.

0:02:42.789,0:02:45.426
It had been 15 years[br]since I escaped that airfield,

0:02:45.450,0:02:48.219
but the memory of those two lines[br]had not escaped my mind.

0:02:48.243,0:02:50.763
I was a medical student in my mid-20s,

0:02:50.787,0:02:52.021
and I wanted to go back

0:02:52.045,0:02:54.915
to see if I could serve[br]the people we'd left behind.

0:02:55.785,0:02:56.935
But when I got back,

0:02:56.959,0:02:58.786
what I found was utter destruction.

0:02:58.810,0:03:00.931
The war had left us with just 51 doctors

0:03:00.955,0:03:03.393
to serve a country of four million people.

0:03:03.417,0:03:06.900
It would be like the city of San Francisco[br]having just 10 doctors.

0:03:07.409,0:03:10.484
So if you got sick in the city[br]where those few doctors remain,

0:03:10.508,0:03:11.957
you might stand a chance.

0:03:11.981,0:03:15.847
But if you got sick in the remote,[br]rural rainforest communities,

0:03:15.871,0:03:18.236
where you could be days[br]from the nearest clinic --

0:03:18.260,0:03:22.001
I was seeing my patients die[br]from conditions no one should die from,

0:03:22.025,0:03:24.168
all because they were[br]getting to me too late.

0:03:24.192,0:03:27.614
Imagine you have a two-year-old[br]who wakes up one morning with a fever,

0:03:27.638,0:03:30.042
and you realize she could have malaria,

0:03:30.066,0:03:33.067
and you know the only way to get her[br]the medicine she needs

0:03:33.091,0:03:34.944
would be to take her to the riverbed,

0:03:34.968,0:03:37.043
get in a canoe, paddle to the other side

0:03:37.067,0:03:39.682
and then walk for up to two days[br]through the forest

0:03:39.706,0:03:41.513
just to reach the nearest clinic.

0:03:42.157,0:03:45.276
One billion people live[br]in the world's most remote communities,

0:03:45.300,0:03:48.945
and despite the advances we've made[br]in modern medicine and technology,

0:03:48.969,0:03:51.668
our innovations are not[br]reaching the last mile.

0:03:51.692,0:03:53.653
These communities have been left behind,

0:03:53.677,0:03:55.876
because they've been thought[br]too hard to reach

0:03:55.900,0:03:57.450
and too difficult to serve.

0:03:58.282,0:03:59.969
Illness is universal;

0:03:59.993,0:04:02.198
access to care is not.

0:04:02.222,0:04:04.784
And realizing this lit a fire in my soul.

0:04:04.808,0:04:09.066
No one should die because they live[br]too far from a doctor or clinic.

0:04:09.090,0:04:11.535
No condition should be permanent.

0:04:13.361,0:04:16.004
And help in this case[br]didn't come from the outside,

0:04:16.028,0:04:17.681
it actually came from within.

0:04:17.705,0:04:19.706
It came from the communities themselves.

0:04:20.178,0:04:21.537
Meet Musu.

0:04:21.561,0:04:22.946
Way out in rural Liberia,

0:04:22.970,0:04:27.139
where most girls have not had[br]a chance to finish primary school,

0:04:27.163,0:04:28.686
Musu had been persistent.

0:04:30.093,0:04:32.414
At the age of 18,[br]she completed high school,

0:04:32.438,0:04:34.264
and she came back to her community.

0:04:34.738,0:04:37.410
She saw that none of the children[br]were getting treatment

0:04:37.434,0:04:39.561
for the diseases[br]they needed treatment for --

0:04:39.585,0:04:41.905
deadly diseases, like malaria[br]and pneumonia.

0:04:41.929,0:04:44.046
So she signed up to be a volunteer.

0:04:45.839,0:04:49.480
There are millions of volunteers like Musu[br]in rural parts around our world,

0:04:49.504,0:04:51.277
and we got to thinking --

0:04:51.301,0:04:54.785
community members like Musu[br]could actually help us solve a puzzle.

0:04:56.103,0:04:58.780
Our health care system[br]is structured in such a way

0:04:58.804,0:05:02.512
that the work of diagnosing disease[br]and prescribing medicines

0:05:02.536,0:05:05.644
is limited to a team of nurses[br]and doctors like me.

0:05:06.418,0:05:09.063
But nurses and doctors[br]are concentrated in cities,

0:05:09.087,0:05:12.423
so rural communities like Musu's[br]have been left behind.

0:05:12.902,0:05:14.657
So we started asking some questions:

0:05:14.681,0:05:17.214
What if we could reorganize[br]the medical care system?

0:05:17.238,0:05:20.156
What if we could have community[br]members like Musu

0:05:20.180,0:05:23.457
be a part or even be the center[br]of our medical team?

0:05:23.481,0:05:27.406
What if Musu could help us bring[br]health care from clinics in cities

0:05:27.430,0:05:29.554
to the doorsteps of her neighbors?

0:05:31.141,0:05:33.236
Musu was 48 when I met her.

0:05:34.016,0:05:37.069
And despite her amazing talent and grit,

0:05:37.093,0:05:40.294
she hadn't had a paying job in 30 years.

0:05:41.463,0:05:43.849
So what if technology could support her?

0:05:44.384,0:05:48.678
What if we could invest in her[br]with real training,

0:05:48.702,0:05:50.982
equip her with real medicines,

0:05:51.828,0:05:55.054
and have her have a real job?

0:05:56.404,0:06:00.868
Well, in 2007, I was trying[br]to answer these questions,

0:06:00.892,0:06:03.465
and my wife and I were[br]getting married that year.

0:06:04.100,0:06:08.593
We asked our relatives to forgo[br]the wedding registry gifts

0:06:08.617,0:06:10.167
and instead donate some money

0:06:10.191,0:06:13.432
so we could have some start-up money[br]to launch a nonprofit.

0:06:14.118,0:06:16.555
I promise you, I'm a lot[br]more romantic than that.

0:06:16.579,0:06:17.729
(Laughter)

0:06:18.163,0:06:20.556
We ended up raising $6,000,

0:06:20.580,0:06:22.708
teamed up with some[br]Liberians and Americans

0:06:22.732,0:06:25.470
and launched a nonprofit[br]called Last Mile Health.

0:06:25.494,0:06:30.397
Our goal is to bring a health worker[br]within reach of everyone, everywhere.

0:06:30.421,0:06:32.355
We designed a three-step process --

0:06:32.379,0:06:33.843
train, equip and pay --

0:06:33.867,0:06:37.224
to invest more deeply[br]in volunteers like Musu

0:06:37.248,0:06:38.847
to become paraprofessionals,

0:06:38.871,0:06:41.045
to become community health workers.

0:06:41.069,0:06:45.626
First we trained Musu to prevent,[br]diagnose and treat

0:06:45.650,0:06:49.359
the top 10 diseases afflicting[br]families in her village.

0:06:49.903,0:06:53.157
A nurse supervisor visited her[br]every month to coach her.

0:06:53.883,0:06:56.424
We equipped her with modern[br]medical technology,

0:06:56.448,0:06:59.818
like this $1 malaria rapid test,

0:06:59.842,0:07:03.571
and put it in a backpack[br]full of medicines like this

0:07:03.595,0:07:05.952
to treat infections like pneumonia,

0:07:06.590,0:07:08.157
and crucially,

0:07:08.181,0:07:12.469
a smartphone, to help her track[br]and report on epidemics.

0:07:13.340,0:07:16.437
Last, we recognized[br]the dignity in Musu's work.

0:07:16.461,0:07:18.894
With the Liberian government,[br]we created a contract,

0:07:18.918,0:07:20.204
paid her

0:07:20.228,0:07:22.321
and gave her the chance[br]to have a real job.

0:07:22.345,0:07:23.514
And she's amazing.

0:07:23.538,0:07:27.024
Musu has learned over 30 medical skills,

0:07:27.048,0:07:29.807
from screening children for malnutrition,

0:07:29.831,0:07:33.304
to assessing the cause[br]of a child's cough with a smartphone,

0:07:33.328,0:07:36.449
to supporting people with HIV

0:07:36.473,0:07:40.270
and providing follow-up care[br]to patients who've lost their limbs.

0:07:41.965,0:07:44.050
Working as part of our team,

0:07:44.074,0:07:45.599
working as paraprofessionals,

0:07:45.623,0:07:47.852
community health workers can help ensure

0:07:47.876,0:07:50.173
that a lot of what[br]your family doctor would do

0:07:50.197,0:07:54.017
reaches the places that most[br]family doctors could never go.

0:07:54.041,0:07:56.982
One of my favorite things to do[br]is to care for patients

0:07:57.006,0:07:58.455
with community health workers.

0:07:58.479,0:08:00.792
So last year I was visiting A.B.,

0:08:00.816,0:08:04.455
and like Musu, A.B. had had[br]a chance to go to school.

0:08:04.479,0:08:07.556
He was in middle school,[br]in the eighth grade,

0:08:07.580,0:08:08.846
when his parents died.

0:08:08.870,0:08:11.436
He became an orphan and had to drop out.

0:08:12.919,0:08:17.327
Last year, we hired and trained[br]A.B. as a community health worker.

0:08:18.215,0:08:21.081
And while he was making[br]door to door house calls,

0:08:21.105,0:08:23.328
he met this young boy named Prince,

0:08:23.352,0:08:26.625
whose mother had had trouble[br]breastfeeding him,

0:08:26.649,0:08:29.861
and by the age of six months,[br]Prince had started to waste away.

0:08:29.885,0:08:33.494
A.B. had just been taught how to use[br]this color-coded measuring tape

0:08:33.518,0:08:37.064
that wraps around the upper arm[br]of a child to diagnose malnutrition.

0:08:37.088,0:08:39.479
A.B. noticed that Prince[br]was in the red zone,

0:08:39.503,0:08:41.394
which meant he had to be hospitalized.

0:08:41.418,0:08:44.060
So A.B. took Prince[br]and his mother to the river,

0:08:44.084,0:08:45.251
got in a canoe

0:08:45.275,0:08:47.935
and paddled for four hours[br]to get to the hospital.

0:08:47.959,0:08:50.164
Later, after Prince was discharged,

0:08:50.982,0:08:55.078
A.B. taught mom how to feed baby[br]a food supplement.

0:08:55.863,0:08:57.902
A few months ago,

0:08:57.926,0:09:01.142
A.B. took me to visit Prince,[br]and he's a chubby little guy.

0:09:01.166,0:09:02.297
(Laughter)

0:09:02.321,0:09:05.493
He's meeting his milestones,[br]he's pulled himself up to a stand,

0:09:05.517,0:09:07.474
and is even starting to say a few words.

0:09:07.498,0:09:09.997
I'm so inspired by these[br]community health workers.

0:09:10.021,0:09:12.309
I often ask them why they do what they do,

0:09:12.333,0:09:14.067
and when I asked A.B.,

0:09:14.954,0:09:18.929
he said, "Doc, since I dropped out[br]of school, this is the first time

0:09:18.953,0:09:21.332
I'm having a chance[br]to hold a pen to write.

0:09:22.036,0:09:24.306
My brain is getting fresh."

0:09:26.104,0:09:29.782
The stories of A.B. and Musu[br]have taught me something fundamental

0:09:29.806,0:09:31.114
about being human.

0:09:32.276,0:09:34.332
Our will to serve others

0:09:35.429,0:09:38.805
can actually help us[br]transform our own conditions.

0:09:39.712,0:09:43.806
I was so moved by how powerful[br]the will to serve our neighbors can be

0:09:43.830,0:09:45.128
a few years ago,

0:09:46.004,0:09:48.007
when we faced a global catastrophe.

0:09:48.660,0:09:50.362
In December 2013,

0:09:50.386,0:09:53.961
something happened in the rainforests[br]across the border from us in Guinea.

0:09:53.985,0:09:58.585
A toddler named Emile fell sick[br]with vomiting, fever and diarrhea.

0:09:58.609,0:10:00.918
He lived in an area[br]where the roads were sparse

0:10:00.942,0:10:03.848
and there had been massive[br]shortages of health workers.

0:10:04.832,0:10:05.988
Emile died,

0:10:06.012,0:10:07.869
and a few weeks later his sister died,

0:10:07.893,0:10:09.813
and a few weeks later his mother died.

0:10:09.837,0:10:13.012
And this disease would spread[br]from one community to another.

0:10:13.036,0:10:15.061
And it wasn't until three months later

0:10:15.085,0:10:17.867
that the world recognized this as Ebola.

0:10:18.304,0:10:21.002
When every minute counted,[br]we had already lost months,

0:10:21.026,0:10:24.479
and by then the virus had spread[br]like wildfire all across West Africa,

0:10:24.503,0:10:26.529
and eventually to other[br]parts of the world.

0:10:26.553,0:10:29.851
Businesses shut down,[br]airlines started canceling routes.

0:10:29.875,0:10:31.291
At the height of the crisis,

0:10:31.315,0:10:35.760
when we were told that 1.4 million[br]people could be infected,

0:10:35.784,0:10:39.287
when we were told[br]that most of them would die,

0:10:39.311,0:10:41.725
when we had nearly lost all hope,

0:10:43.678,0:10:46.550
I remember standing with a group[br]of health workers

0:10:46.574,0:10:49.332
in the rainforest where[br]an outbreak had just happened.

0:10:49.356,0:10:52.345
We were helping train and equip[br]them to put on the masks,

0:10:52.369,0:10:54.409
the gloves and the gowns that they needed

0:10:54.433,0:10:56.428
to keep themselves safe from the virus

0:10:56.452,0:10:58.760
while they were serving their patients.

0:10:58.784,0:11:01.085
I remember the fear in their eyes.

0:11:02.492,0:11:07.078
And I remember staying up at night,[br]terrified if I'd made the right call

0:11:08.519,0:11:09.908
to keep them in the field.

0:11:10.757,0:11:14.642
When Ebola threatened to bring[br]humanity to its knees,

0:11:15.496,0:11:18.569
Liberia's community health workers[br]didn't surrender to fear.

0:11:19.779,0:11:22.107
They did what they had always done:

0:11:22.131,0:11:25.085
they answered the call[br]to serve their neighbors.

0:11:25.586,0:11:29.354
Community members across Liberia[br]learned the symptoms of Ebola,

0:11:29.378,0:11:32.931
teamed up with nurses and doctors[br]to go door-to-door to find the sick

0:11:32.955,0:11:34.511
and get them into care.

0:11:34.535,0:11:37.945
They tracked thousands of people[br]who had been exposed to the virus

0:11:37.969,0:11:40.392
and helped break[br]the chain of transmission.

0:11:40.416,0:11:43.726
Some ten thousand community[br]health workers risked their own lives

0:11:43.750,0:11:46.958
to help hunt down this virus[br]and stop it in its tracks.

0:11:47.527,0:11:53.412
(Applause)

0:11:54.696,0:11:58.206
Today, Ebola has come[br]under control in West Africa,

0:11:58.230,0:11:59.851
and we've learned a few things.

0:12:00.349,0:12:02.947
We've learned that blind spots[br]in rural health care

0:12:02.971,0:12:04.769
can lead to hot spots of disease,

0:12:04.793,0:12:07.209
and that places all of us at greater risk.

0:12:07.702,0:12:10.394
We've learned that the most efficient[br]emergency system

0:12:10.418,0:12:12.446
is actually an everyday system,

0:12:12.470,0:12:15.196
and that system has to reach[br]all communities,

0:12:15.220,0:12:17.495
including rural communities like Emile's.

0:12:18.540,0:12:19.691
And most of all,

0:12:19.715,0:12:23.176
we've learned from the courage[br]of Liberia's community health workers

0:12:23.200,0:12:26.921
that we as people are not defined[br]by the conditions we face,

0:12:26.945,0:12:29.009
no matter how hopeless they seem.

0:12:30.140,0:12:32.272
We're defined by how we respond to them.

0:12:34.300,0:12:36.351
For the past 15 years,

0:12:37.249,0:12:39.252
I've seen the power of this idea

0:12:39.276,0:12:43.373
to transform everyday citizens[br]into community health workers --

0:12:43.397,0:12:45.260
into everyday heroes.

0:12:46.124,0:12:47.926
And I've seen it play out everywhere,

0:12:47.950,0:12:50.008
from the forest communities[br]of West Africa,

0:12:50.032,0:12:52.277
to the rural fishing villages of Alaska.

0:12:52.979,0:12:54.129
It's true,

0:12:54.153,0:12:57.202
these community health workers[br]aren't doing neurosurgery,

0:12:57.226,0:12:58.718
but they're making it possible

0:12:58.742,0:13:01.814
to bring health care within reach[br]of everyone everywhere.

0:13:03.645,0:13:04.862
So now what?

0:13:05.812,0:13:09.576
Well, we know that there are still[br]millions of people dying

0:13:09.600,0:13:11.349
from preventable causes

0:13:11.373,0:13:13.248
in rural communities around the world.

0:13:13.272,0:13:17.113
And we know that the great majority[br]of these deaths are happening

0:13:17.137,0:13:19.460
in these 75 blue-shaded countries.

0:13:19.849,0:13:21.000
What we also know

0:13:21.024,0:13:24.467
is that if we trained an army[br]of community health workers

0:13:24.491,0:13:27.824
to learn even just 30 lifesaving skills,

0:13:28.508,0:13:32.624
we could save the lives of nearly[br]30 million people by 2030.

0:13:33.652,0:13:38.297
Thirty services could save[br]30 million lives by 2030.

0:13:38.321,0:13:40.064
That's not just a blueprint --

0:13:40.088,0:13:41.883
we're proving this can be done.

0:13:41.907,0:13:43.067
In Liberia,

0:13:43.091,0:13:47.356
the Liberian government is training[br]thousands of workers like A.B. and Musu

0:13:47.380,0:13:48.538
after Ebola,

0:13:48.562,0:13:52.039
to bring health care to every[br]child and family in the country.

0:13:52.063,0:13:54.094
And we've been honored to work with them,

0:13:54.118,0:13:56.626
and are now teaming up[br]with a number of organizations

0:13:56.650,0:13:58.872
that are working across other countries

0:13:58.896,0:14:00.919
to try to help them do the same thing.

0:14:02.005,0:14:04.695
If we could help these countries scale,

0:14:05.550,0:14:07.182
we could save millions of lives,

0:14:07.206,0:14:08.562
and at the same time,

0:14:08.586,0:14:10.367
we could create millions of jobs.

0:14:11.875,0:14:14.797
We simply can't do that, though,[br]without technology.

0:14:15.286,0:14:18.374
People are worried that technology[br]is going to steal our jobs,

0:14:18.398,0:14:20.597
but when it comes[br]to community health workers,

0:14:20.621,0:14:23.877
technology has actually[br]been vital for creating jobs.

0:14:23.901,0:14:26.317
Without technology --[br]without this smartphone,

0:14:26.341,0:14:29.063
without this rapid test --

0:14:29.960,0:14:34.493
it would have been impossible for us[br]to be able to employ A.B. and Musu.

0:14:35.464,0:14:38.146
And I think it's time[br]for technology to help us train,

0:14:38.170,0:14:41.710
to help us train people faster[br]and better than ever before.

0:14:42.578,0:14:43.728
As a doctor,

0:14:43.752,0:14:47.243
I use technology to stay up-to-date[br]and keep certified.

0:14:47.267,0:14:49.962
I use smartphones, I use apps,[br]I use online courses.

0:14:49.986,0:14:52.198
But when A.B. wants to learn,

0:14:52.222,0:14:54.317
he's got to jump back in that canoe

0:14:55.152,0:14:56.792
and get to the training center.

0:14:56.816,0:14:59.008
And when Musu shows up for training,

0:14:59.710,0:15:03.315
her instructors are stuck using[br]flip charts and markers.

0:15:04.147,0:15:08.680
Why shouldn't they have the same[br]access to learn as I do?

0:15:10.384,0:15:14.012
If we truly want community health workers[br]to master those lifesaving skills

0:15:14.036,0:15:15.288
and even more,

0:15:16.098,0:15:19.352
we've got to change this old-school[br]model of education.

0:15:20.282,0:15:22.180
Tech can truly be a game changer here.

0:15:22.204,0:15:25.749
I've been in awe of the digital[br]education revolution

0:15:25.773,0:15:28.933
that the likes of Khan Academy[br]and edX have been leading.

0:15:30.041,0:15:32.534
And I've been thinking that it's time;

0:15:32.558,0:15:33.949
it's time for a collision

0:15:33.973,0:15:36.284
between the digital education revolution

0:15:36.308,0:15:38.458
and the community health revolution.

0:15:39.483,0:15:42.703
And so, this brings me[br]to my TED Prize wish.

0:15:43.759,0:15:45.560
I wish --

0:15:45.584,0:15:47.790
I wish that you would help us recruit

0:15:47.814,0:15:51.742
the largest army of community health[br]workers the world has ever known

0:15:52.068,0:15:54.893
by creating the Community Health Academy,

0:15:54.917,0:15:58.122
a global platform to train,[br]connect and empower.

0:15:58.797,0:15:59.963
(Applause)

0:15:59.988,0:16:01.150
Thank you.

0:16:01.175,0:16:04.777
(Applause)

0:16:04.801,0:16:05.959
Thank you.

0:16:07.816,0:16:09.360
Here's the idea:

0:16:09.384,0:16:11.454
we'll create and curate

0:16:12.066,0:16:15.941
the best in digital education resources.

0:16:16.802,0:16:21.437
We will bring those to community[br]health workers around the world,

0:16:21.461,0:16:22.714
including A.B. and Musu.

0:16:22.738,0:16:25.540
They'll get video lessons[br]on giving kids vaccines

0:16:25.564,0:16:28.777
and have online courses[br]on spotting the next outbreak,

0:16:28.801,0:16:30.684
so they're not stuck using flip charts.

0:16:30.708,0:16:34.544
We'll help these countries[br]accredit these workers,

0:16:34.568,0:16:39.275
so that they're not stuck remaining[br]an under-recognized, undervalued group,

0:16:39.299,0:16:42.036
but become a renowned,[br]empowered profession,

0:16:42.060,0:16:43.821
just like nurses and doctors.

0:16:45.406,0:16:48.729
And we'll create a network[br]of companies and entrepreneurs

0:16:48.753,0:16:51.029
who've created innovations[br]that can save lives

0:16:51.053,0:16:53.433
and help them connect[br]to workers like Musu,

0:16:53.457,0:16:56.032
so she can help better[br]serve her community.

0:16:56.959,0:17:00.165
And we'll work tirelessly[br]to persuade governments

0:17:00.189,0:17:04.171
to make community health workers[br]a cornerstone of their health care plans.

0:17:05.734,0:17:09.523
We plan to test and prototype[br]the academy in Liberia

0:17:09.547,0:17:11.419
and a few other partner countries,

0:17:11.443,0:17:13.230
and then we plan to take it global,

0:17:13.254,0:17:15.477
including to rural North America.

0:17:16.103,0:17:17.693
With the power of this platform,

0:17:17.717,0:17:20.279
we believe countries can be more persuaded

0:17:20.303,0:17:23.628
that a health care revolution[br]really is possible.

0:17:24.470,0:17:28.558
My dream is that this academy[br]will contribute to the training

0:17:28.582,0:17:30.794
of hundreds of thousands[br]of community members

0:17:30.818,0:17:33.717
to help bring health care[br]to their neighbors --

0:17:33.741,0:17:35.351
the hundreds of millions of them

0:17:35.375,0:17:37.996
that live in the world's most[br]remote communities,

0:17:38.785,0:17:40.866
from the forest communities[br]of West Africa,

0:17:40.890,0:17:43.030
to the fishing villages of rural Alaska;

0:17:43.054,0:17:47.116
from the hilltops of Appalachia,[br]to the mountains of Afghanistan.

0:17:47.140,0:17:49.830
If this vision is aligned with yours,

0:17:49.854,0:17:53.075
head to communityhealthacademy.org,

0:17:53.740,0:17:55.420
and join this revolution.

0:17:56.536,0:18:01.189
Let us know if you or your organization[br]or someone you know could help us

0:18:01.213,0:18:04.444
as we try to build this academy[br]over the next year.

0:18:05.574,0:18:07.530
Now, as I look out into this room,

0:18:08.310,0:18:11.016
I realize that our journeys[br]are not self-made;

0:18:11.040,0:18:12.549
they're shaped by others.

0:18:12.573,0:18:16.416
And there have been so many here[br]that have been part of this cause.

0:18:16.440,0:18:19.650
We're so honored to be part[br]of this community,

0:18:19.674,0:18:22.357
and a community that's willing[br]to take on a cause

0:18:22.381,0:18:23.749
as audacious as this one,

0:18:23.773,0:18:25.848
so I wanted to offer, as I end,

0:18:25.872,0:18:27.094
a reflection.

0:18:27.986,0:18:30.973
I think a lot more about[br]what my father taught me.

0:18:31.726,0:18:33.927
These days, I too have become a dad.

0:18:33.951,0:18:35.967
I have two sons,

0:18:35.991,0:18:39.979
and my wife and I just learned[br]that she's pregnant with our third child.

0:18:40.003,0:18:41.011
(Applause)

0:18:41.035,0:18:42.102
Thank you.

0:18:42.126,0:18:43.677
(Applause)

0:18:44.056,0:18:46.884
I was recently caring[br]for a woman in Liberia

0:18:46.908,0:18:49.633
who, like my wife,[br]was in her third pregnancy.

0:18:50.371,0:18:52.080
But unlike my wife,

0:18:52.958,0:18:55.957
had had no prenatal care[br]with her first two babies.

0:18:57.549,0:19:01.941
She lived in an isolated community[br]in the forest that had gone for 100 years

0:19:01.965,0:19:03.354
without any health care

0:19:04.513,0:19:06.141
until ...

0:19:06.165,0:19:09.548
until last year when a nurse[br]trained her neighbors

0:19:09.572,0:19:11.283
to become community health workers.

0:19:11.307,0:19:12.599
So here I was,

0:19:12.623,0:19:16.863
seeing this patient[br]who was in her second trimester,

0:19:16.887,0:19:20.159
and I pulled out the ultrasound[br]to check on the baby,

0:19:20.183,0:19:23.722
and she started telling us stories[br]about her first two kids,

0:19:23.746,0:19:26.944
and I had the ultrasound[br]probe on her belly,

0:19:26.968,0:19:29.236
and she just stopped mid-sentence.

0:19:31.221,0:19:32.762
She turned to me and she said,

0:19:32.786,0:19:35.080
"Doc, what's that sound?"

0:19:37.371,0:19:40.549
It was the first time she'd ever heard[br]her baby's heartbeat.

0:19:42.111,0:19:47.171
And her eyes lit up in the same way[br]my wife's eyes and my own eyes lit up

0:19:47.195,0:19:49.330
when we heard our baby's heartbeat.

0:19:51.544,0:19:53.697
For all of human history,

0:19:53.721,0:19:58.253
illness has been universal[br]and access to care has not.

0:19:58.277,0:20:00.163
But as a wise man once told me:

0:20:01.690,0:20:04.178
no condition is permanent.

0:20:05.491,0:20:06.719
It's time.

0:20:06.743,0:20:09.066
It's time for us to go as far as it takes

0:20:09.090,0:20:11.182
to change this condition together.

0:20:11.694,0:20:12.848
Thank you.

0:20:12.872,0:20:17.339
(Applause)