Global Health Programs: Global Health Security

Objective

The Global Health Security Branch (GHSB) at CDC is the agency’s lead engagement office for partnerships with other U.S. government entities, multilateral institutes, and international organizations in aiding countries to achieve global health security. 

Program Description

GHSB collaborates with the U.S. Department of State (DoS) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) on global health diplomacy and biosecurity issues.  It also implements CDC’s strategy for Global All-Hazard Emergency Preparedness and Response and addresses concerns with international terrorism and emergency preparedness and response. Major projects within GHSB include:

• International Influenza Unit – provides leadership and coordination of international activities related to influenza and other pandemic threats through policy analysis, health diplomacy, and strategic planning.
• Biological Threat Reduction Program – withfunding from DoD, this program works to develop epidemiology, surveillance laboratory and quality management systems, build workforce capacity, and create IT data collection systems globally. 
• Biosecurity Engagement Program – a DoS initiative, this collaboration increases biosecurity by engaging former biological weapons scientists and institutions in peaceful areas of health-related research and capacity development.
• Emerging Pandemic Threat Program – funded by USAID, this collaboration focuses on pre-empting or combating, at their source, newly emerging diseases of animal origin that could threaten human health.

Public Health Impact

Recent accomplishments with our partners include:

• Assisted the International Science and Technology Center (Russia) and the Science and Technology Center (Ukraine) with over 30 projects to create a sustainable culture of laboratory bio-risk management.
• Developed the Disease Investigation Plans prototype, a broad framework for countries to adopt and create systems for sustainable laboratory, clinical, and diagnostic capacities
• Established a novel, 12-trainee FELTP pilot program to provide health systems training and field experience in the southern Caucuses.
• Promoted national capacity for laboratory management, including a $90 million central reference laboratory built by the DoD in the Republic of Georgia.
• Provided technical assistance for the testing, deployment, and training of the Electronic Integrated Disease System (EIDS) in all the Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP) countries.
• Collaborated with the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) and Khon Kaen University to collect blood samples from household pets and domesticated animals from Northeastern Thailand provinces.

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