US health secretary: Nations cannot ignore disease

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says health is the "great global connector" and nations cannot afford to ignore disease in any part of the world.

Sebelius was the keynote speaker Monday at the University of Colorado's Conference on World Affairs.

She praised the United States for working to help control recent disease outbreaks in northern Uganda and Vietnam, and for providing better health care to expectant mothers in the developing world.

Sebelius says the U.S. has made great strides lowering its smoking rates. But she says the country needs to help fight tobacco use in the rest of the world because of its role promoting smoking.