BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Health is the “great global connector” and ignoring disease in other nations will punish people everywhere as the world increasingly is connected by air travel and food transported across the globe, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday.

Speaking at the opening of the University of Colorado’s Conference on World Affairs, Sebelius said nations not only have a practical and economic reason but also a humanitarian one to work together to innovate and share knowledge about advances in fighting disease, whether it’s cancer or cholera.