CDC and Partners: Promoting and Protecting Global Public Health

In an era of increasing globalization, the United States and the world face new challenges and opportunities in public health. CDC works in partnership with other agencies of the US government, public health officials throughout the world, and nongovernmental organizations to protect and promote global public health. CDC's Global Health Protection Goal sets priorities for CDC's global health activities and encourages investment in cross-cutting, innovative, and sustainable interventions, especially for vulnerable populations.

The Goal focuses on achieving objectives that will reduce or prevent global morbidity, mortality, and burden of disease, and will contribute to building the public health infrastructure required to promote and protect health. The objectives balance the protection of citizens within their own borders with the humanitarian goals of public health practice.

To achieve the Global Health Protection Goal, activities of CDC and its partners are aligned with the following broad themes:

• Health Protection—Protecting Americans and the global community through a transnational prevention, detection and response network that makes the world a safer and healthier place for all while protecting U.S. economic interests.

• Health Promotion—Promoting health by sharing knowledge, tools and other resources with populations and partners around the world. CDC develops and implements numerous culturally appropriate public health interventions that contribute to reductions in global morbidity and mortality.

• Health Diplomacy—Ensuring that CDC and the United States Government remain a trusted and effective resource for health development and health protection around the globe through investments in public health capacity development and partnership development.

CDC and Partners: A Lot To Share, a Lot To Gain

In 2008, CDC is investing $1 billion in global public health programs. Ninety percent of these investments support initiatives that prevent and control six high-burden, high-priority infectious diseases—HIV/AIDS, polio, measles, malaria, influenza, and tuberculosis. CDC global funds also support global disease detection, safe drinking water, and public health capacity building.

CDC achieves global health impact through collaborative efforts with multiple partners, including the World Health Organization and UNICEF. As CDC shares its resources and expertise with other countries, the agency learns more about diseases and conditions that exist or are emerging.

Examples of CDC programs and partnerships around the world: