( CNN ) -- The first case of Ebola in the United States was diagnosed in Texas . Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took to the airwaves to assure the public that there is no risk of widespread infection . The reason : The United States has a strong health system and trained health workers who can efficiently and effectively contain Ebola . This is good news for America , but what about the rest of the world ? In fact , the devastation of Ebola highlights an urgent global crisis that , as we now see , can reach into the United States : Across the world , there is a shortage of 7.2 million health workers . The United States is sending thousands of troops to West Africa to fight Ebola . In Liberia , Sierra Leone , Nigeria and Senegal people suffer because Ebola death stalks faster than local governments and international relief agencies can respond . Our moral imperative to respond swiftly is obvious . Complete coverage on Ebola . This is made very difficult because at least 1 billion people have little to no access to a health worker , according to the World Health Organization . The Ebola epidemic has exposed global health 's Achilles ' heel . A big part of the reason is that the global health community has unwittingly built a system in which health advocates compete for funding allocated to specific diseases : HIV , malaria , tuberculosis -- the list goes on .
Ashley Judd , Karl Hofmann : Ebola is in Texas . U.S. ' good health system is good news . But event highlights bad news in rest of world : huge shortage of health workers globally , they say . Why ? Health investments made to fight specific diseases , not health systems to prevent them . Writers : Governments , nonprofits , foundations must join to fund , build health systems .