“HOUSTON, TX., and BURBANK, Calif., March 7, 2018 – Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company, today announced an innovative plan to dedicate more than $100 million in company resources, including cash, products and services, to reinvent the patient and family experience in children’s hospitals across the globe. This initiative will roll out over five years, expanding the Company’s rich legacy of supporting children’s hospitals, which dates back to Walt Disney.“- from The Walt Disney Company Commits More Than $100 Million to Bring Comfort to Children and Their Families in Hospitals. Child health is an area that needs a tremendous amount of investment.  Around the globe, under-5 mortality is struggling to improve, especially in the lowest resourced countries in Africa, South America and Asia. So it’s exciting when corporate giants decide to give back. Disney has deep pockets, and incredible resources and connections – seeing them connect with child health has such great potential, and there are corporations around the world who may also want to contribute in meaningful ways after watching others lead the way. I have no doubt that there has been extensive stakeholder engagement to determine what Disney as a company can offer children’s hospitals in the US.  But I do question what Disney’s $100M for “children’s hospitals across the globe” will ultimately accomplish when in the US, 6.5 children don’t reach their 5th birthday – while in Kenya it’s 50, and in Mali it’s 110.  As someone who works at one of a few hospitals in East Africa to have a dedicated pediatric wing (including an even more rare ICU), saying that the value of directed cash, products and services is “$100 million” seems disingenuous.  In additional to customisable themed Disney rooms and RFID tracking of patients, there will also be: “Disney customer-experience training for doctors, nurses and staff. The renowned Disney Institute… provides professional development training focused on leadership, employee engagement and high quality service.” Kenya has 1 surgeon for every 40,000 people.  Somalia has 1 per 500,000.  The US, by comparison, has 1 surgeon for every 2270 people.  Each of those surgeons has gone to school for at least 12 years, plus 6-8 for medical school, plus 5 years for general surgical training, with possibly 2-3 years extra for further training in a surgical specialty.  I can promise you that if surgeons in any setting have the desire and time for more learning after 28 years of education, it will probably be to pursue a Masters in Public Health or Business Administration, rather than the Disney School of Magical Experiences. $100 million over 5 years is a lot of money.  If Disney really wants to give $100M, why focus on hospital window-dressing in a wealthy country, rather than helping kids survive in a needy country? There are many, many ways that this amount of social investment could be spent that would have sustained and broad impact.  What if Disney used its existing expertise to: Set up a Disney Ambulance Network anywhere in Africa.  I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t Kenya – but pre-hospital access to care across the continent is woeful, if not nonexistent.  A 5 year pilot program would have huge impact in a region where mothers die giving birth and kids hit by cars die because there is no transport to a hospital.  They could be Disney themed for just mothers and kids under 5.  Use Disney’s extensive RFID tracking and analytics capabilities from theme parks to get help where it’s needed, quicker. Give the Ministry of Health, any country’s, a team of Disney computer whizkids for a year who are able to make extraordinary animated films through...