PARTNERS' UPDATE | Issue 3, August 2017

A newsletter from the Center for Global Health

Effective, Strong Partnership Fuel CDC’s Work and Achievements

By Rebecca Martin
Director of the Center for Global Health

CDC’s Center for Global Health (CGH) work and impact are closely intertwined with the partners we have; the whole truly is greater than the sum of the parts.

In practice and by culture, CDC relies on collaborations and partnerships that are as unique as the health challenges that we lock arms to fight. The scope of our partnerships is nearly as diverse as the work we do in public health. At a country level, our main partner is the host government – working government to government. We also have key partnerships with universities, nongovernment organizations, foundations, civil society, and private sector. We work to vaccinate children against polio, to strengthen laboratories and health services for HIV and TB treatment, or to respond to a disease outbreak by contacting individuals who might have been exposed to an infectious disease, such as Ebola.

There are still an array of infectious disease threats in the world confronting Americans every day, which is why more than a dozen partners came to Atlanta in June to meet with senior CDC leaders and disease experts to discuss innovative and better ways to collaborate. Partners shared their goals and provided real-time input into CDC’s global health objectives. They also toured CDC’s infectious disease laboratories and public health emergency response facilities. CDC’s unique and essential leadership role in science, and in preventing, detecting, and responding to global disease threats to keep Americans safe was expressed through evidence-based narratives of the impact of CDC’s work.

CDC’s record and commitment to global health and working closely with partners is evidenced in our work combatting insidious diseases that impact Americans and people around the world, such as polio, HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria.

CDC is a partner in the longest and largest public health initiative to date – the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). This public-private partnership is led by national governments at country level with five spearheading partners – the World Health Organization, Rotary International, CDC, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – who have locked arms to defeat polio.

As former CDC directors Tom Frieden, Jeffrey P. Koplan, and David Satcher wrote June 11 in a joint op-ed, “The story of polio’s decline is more than simply a story of science and innovation. It’s a story of partnerships that are both unique and historic.”

And now the result of that effort and diverse Initiative is the reality that polio can join smallpox as the next human disease to be eradicated. Wild poliovirus transmission has been interrupted in all countries except for three countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. In 2016, there were only 37 recorded cases, the smallest number of new cases in history, and in 2017, as of 27 July 2017, there are only 8 cases in the world. Compare that to 1988 when polio was ravaging people’s health in 125 countries, paralyzing 350,000 individuals each year, with devastating economic consequences and human suffering.

There’s a similar story to tell on the battle against HIV/AIDS that is highlighted by the broad, global alliance that has come together to combat the epidemic, an effort perhaps best represented by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that has transformed a disease once considered untreatable, to one that, with treatment, allows people to live productive, long lives.

The specifics attest to the power of the vast partnerships driving PEPFAR and the global community’s efforts to defeat HIV/AIDS. Through PEPFAR, nearly 11.5 million people are on life-saving antiretroviral treatment. That is a 50 percent increase since 2014. With PEPFAR support, nearly 2 million babies have been born HIV-free to pregnant women living with HIV – almost twice as many as in 2013 – and their mothers have been kept healthy and alive to protect and nurture them.

A cross-section of CDC’s effort to combat HIV/AIDS, through PEPFAR, highlights CDC’s work with ministries of health around the world, in addition to a strong coalition of international and national partners including The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, universities, faith-based organizations, civil society and public-private partnerships, such as Labs for Life (PEPFAR, CDC, and Becton, Dickinson and Company), to name a few. CDC also partners with the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on strategic guidance, guidelines, and determining disease burden.

CDC is ever-interested in collaborating and locking arms with current and new partners in a shared effort to protect Americans from global threats to their health and well-being. Partnerships expand the reach of CDC experts that respond to global infectious disease threats and strengthen critical public health services around the world—these global efforts are essential to protect the health of Americans both at home and abroad.

Photo of the Month

Friends of CDC Global

On June 15-16, 2017, CDC leadership welcomed a delegation of partner organizations, including the Global Health Council (GHC), Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), Frontline Healthworkers Coalition (FHWC), Washington Global Health Alliance (WGHA), Georgia Global Health Alliance (GGHA), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), Management Sciences for Health (MSH), Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), Program for Appropriate Technologies in Health (PATH), Sabin Vaccine Institute, and U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP).

Delegates learned how CDC works to prevent, detect, and respond to disease threats. As part of the visit, delegates toured CDC’s Emergency Operations Center, Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, and HIV Laboratory. Throughout the two days, delegates interacted with subject matter experts and CDC leadership to discuss current and future global health priorities.

Front row: Dr. Anne Shuchat (CDC), Dena Morris (WGHA), Loyce Pace (GHC), Peter Kyriacopoulos (APHL), Nisha Quasba (APHL)
Second row: Dr. Rebecca Martin (CDC), Carmen Villar (CDC), Jamie Nishi (GHTC), Courtney Carson (GHTC), Emily Conron (Sabin), Vince Blaser (FHWC), Christine Lubinski (IDSA)Third row: Rabita Aziz (IDSA), Maria Thacker Goethe (GGHA), Danielle Heiberg (GHC), Crystal Lander (MSH)Fourth row: Termika Smith (CDC), Catherine Connor (EGPAF), Brandon Ball (PATH), Annie Toro (USP)Back row: Thomas Mampilly (CDC), Donda Hansen (CDC)

Global Health Briefs

Global Together: Center for Global Health Annual Meeting

The world, or at least CDC’s version of it, arrived in Atlanta on June 6. That was the beginning of the Center for Global Health’s (CGH’s) annual meeting, with the theme: “Global Together: Connect. Collaborate. Innovate.”

Attended by more than 1,000 CDC staffers from country offices around the world and across CDC, the meeting touched on the broad strokes of CGH’s priorities for the year. Smaller, more granular sessions examined everything from how to better engage local employed staff in country offices to getting the most out of workforce capacity building and many more topics. Acting CDC Director Anne Schuchat, MD (RADM, USPHS), and CGH Director Rebecca Martin, PhD, launched the annual meeting with a joint keynote address. Both emphasized the excellence and dedication of CDC staff and the tireless efforts that have yielded important and lasting improvements in people’s health from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

We are “this” close: 2017 Rotary Convention

On June 12, Dr. Anne Schuchat spoke about the unique and leading role of the U.S. in global polio eradication at the 2017 Rotary Convention in Atlanta. Other notable participants were Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General-elect of WHO, Anthony Lake of UNICEF, and Bill Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The world is closer than ever to ensuring polio is the second vaccine-preventable disease to be eradicated from the world. In 2016, the lowest number of polio cases (37) were reported from three endemic countries. This major milestone could not have happened without the commitment and dedication of Rotary and Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners.

CDC-Rwanda’s 15th Anniversary

CDC-Rwanda recently held a celebration event to commemorate 15 years of CDC in Rwanda. The celebration included a story and animated slideshow of CDC in Rwanda, speeches from CGH Director Dr. Martin, CDC Rwanda Country Director Dr. Eugene MacDonald, Ambassador Barks-Ruggles, and various press events. The celebration officially began on June 29 and will continue to be promoted for six months.

New Global Health Resources Page Launched

A new global health resources page has just been posted to the Center for Global Health website at www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/resources. The web page lists resources such as the new Top 10 Global Health Priorities photobook, the new factsheet, country factsheets, Dear Colleague Letters, social media cards, and infographics.

What's New

On the Web

CDC’s Carmen Villar writes about how CDC protects people from disease threats and outbreaks in the U.S. and around the world.
CDC released a video to raise awareness of CDC's important global health work to protect Americans and save lives.
CDC launched a photobook that explores the top 10 global health priorities CDC currently addresses.
Former CDC directors wrote an op-ed on eliminating polio for Fox News.