Love this idea!

This could also become a multi-lateral program in which professionals from other countries, from India to Cuba to the UK, get involved as potential Corps members.

Here are some more interesting thoughts about the idea: http://www.cgdev.org/content/opinion/detail/16661/

I am one with you, Victor Roy!

Until 1974 there was a hospital ship, HOPE, that sailed to the ports
of the world providing medical care and training. 

The Project Hope organization is still in operation, but the ship has
been retired.  The physical ship was an important symbol and
catalyst, something that could inspire kids around the world.

Hi all!I think Victor's idea is a good one, but I also urge you all to become aware of existing programs that do some of this work. The Global Health Fellows Program under USAID also places and supports health professionals in places of need where they perform direct heath program and health system development as well as leadership training for local professionals. 
I think it is important to survey the scene and make sure we support existing programs and acknowledging their work at the same time that we look for opportunities in new growth areas!
Thanks for the suggestion, Victor!

Maggie, good point. Existing programs can be useful tools to either learn best practices for use in larger scale programs and/or to support these programs if appropriate. In this regard, I think the Global Health Corps program can be larger in scale over time and leverage tremendous resources (human talent, leadership, money, and awareness).

Why would we be subsidizing other nations healthcare, in a time the country is in an recession, and possibly headed towards a depression?

Also, in this country there are millions of people that have no insurance or access to preventative care. Maybe we should address those situations before we ship doctors we need overseas, just a thought.

I like the intent of this idea but this that it should be shifted on building capacity within developing countries to produce more community health workers. CHWs that come from within the community will be more likely to know history, customs, beliefs, expectations, and limitations of the settings.

The Global Health Fellows Program does address limited health infrastructure from the top down but I think that the benefit of a program like this is establishing a grassroots community-based system that can be coordinated at the ministry level once sufficient personnel are trained and distributed properly.

There are two words, that make this a bad idea, otherwise it's fantastic.
Those two words are "federal government"

Like someone just said, were in recession, our current health care sucks.

Understand that when you say Federal Government, you mean ... Me... you... everyone pays for this. 

Enough.  If some charity wants to start a program where this is their goal, FANTASTIC, they do that all the time, but do not put the tax burden on every American, to fund these country specific plans.

I would donate to your cause, but I would not allow my tax dollars to be used for it.

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Less than 1% of federal tax dollars go to all international development assistance, so if you're looking to trim the fat, something else might be a more important starting point.

In a global system, pandemics and poverty affect us all. A viral form of TB that doesn't respond to the normal drug regimen could wreak havoc in America or Europe. The poorest areas are the easiest place to recruit for terrorist organizations.

Short-sightedness got us into most of the messes we're in. Its about time we start thinking long-term and investing in the infrastructure of a safer, healthier world.

hey guys, so after doing some more thinking, I thought that it would be best to broaden the approach and re-shape the initial idea towards "human capital" investment versus a more narrow creation of a global health corps. The investments in community health workers, when paired alongside the immediate support that can be provided by a Corps of trained professionals, can really make the difference in the long-term and pull countries out of poverty and suffering. I'll be making some more tweaks to the idea in the coming weeks.

I like the idea, but at the moemnt, there are still too many people in our own country who don't have access to health services. I personally know too many individuals who go without basic health checkups for years beause of lack of money and no health insurance.  I think it would be unfair to send out healthcare workers from our  shores but not send them out among our own people.

There are already many nonprofits who help the destitue and ill in the world develop and thrive. We could focus on assisting them since they are already working and are more than willing to continue such work. It is also an accessible option for private citizens--including health care workers-- to join them in thier causes. I suggest that we spread the word on such organisations instead of creating an entirely new government project to do the exact same thing.

Perahps this could be a subset of the Peace Corps, which has existing health promotion projects in many of the countries it serves?

Excellent idea. But it will take funding.  For a new source of funding that will not add to existing budget crisis go to proposal for a global tax on currency speculators: http://www.change.org/ideas/view/global_tax_on_currency_trading_a_new_funding_source_for_global_health_education_and_poverty_eradi

This proposal also lays the ground work for a global biosecurity network which will provide humanity with an early warning system for the most rapid and effective detection and responce capacity to pandemics or bioterror outbreaks.  This global human capital would also provide the good will and the local personal connections to people in places where Al Qaeda is also seeking support. Building human capital is the essence protecting global health and effective terrorist prevention. 

I have got a better idea

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/a_comprehensive_cure_universal_health_care_vouchers

There has been much talk about climate change, but not much about where we will see its first impact.

Flooding, Drought, water is the vector of climate change, we already have seen in recent times in many areas America/Worldwide areas where there is intense competition for water; Windesal® can sustain many areas America/Worldwide that will be impacted by this issue that may suffer physically or economically from this lack of fresh water shortage.

The U.S. Public Health Service already does this to a large degree (see mission statement here: http://www.usphs.gov/AboutUs/mission.aspx). 

Rather than create a new program/bureaucracy, why not revise or expand the mission of the USPHS to include additional overseas placement of USPHS personnel (including both the uniformed commissioned corps and civilian PHS folks) to realize this investment in global health human capital? 

- Steve Hein
Marketing Director, NAUS
www.NAUS.org

So, we already have this.  It's called the US Peace Corps, which already ahs the infrastructure in place and just needs to be doubled in size.  A Global Health Corps would be redundant PLUS it would take years to get off the ground.  Obama has already said he supports doubling the size of the Peace Corps, so let's push him on that rather than creating a bureaucratic nightmare.