By AJ Hess

Copyright time

The basic morality of child survival is as strong as ever.

One great thing about global health is everybody agrees we should reduce the death of children. Education, for instance, is very complicated in terms of what exactly you’re optimizing for. But in global health, thank goodness, the golden rule goes back to every religious tradition. And [I believe] we can get people’s attention on this idea that, in the case of the U.S., 1% of the budget should go to help the poorest.

Nothing has changed in terms of the importance of this. The world is richer today than ever before. Sometimes it may not feel that way. But I think if we get in front of people, including, in front of Congress, where we’re actually doing quite well on these issues, we can get very strong support.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.