Coordinating Office for Global Health
Global Health Partnerships
The scope and intensity of global health challenges ensures that no single country or agency can work alone to meet them. To contribute to shared global health objectives, CDC works in close partnership with a wide array of international agencies and institutions to shape global health policies and to fund, implement, and evaluate programs. CDC's partnerships with international and multinational organizations include the World Health Organization and its regional offices, other United Nations agencies (such as UNICEF) and affiliated agencies (such as the United Nations Foundation), the World Bank, other federal agencies within the U.S. Government, private foundations, universities, and global health organizations. Each is described briefly below.
Like others involved in these efforts, CDC staff hope to improve public health outcomes by providing technical expertise and learning new methods to improve the constantly evolving practice of public health. Another important aspect of sharing global health knowledge is the standardization of data collected- critical to the ongoing challenge of detecting and comparing trends around the world. CDC representatives also participate in policy discussions that explore the many options for devoting scarce resources to long-standing as well as emerging public health crises. These discussions offer opportunities for bringing U.S. perspectives to multilateral settings, along with the equally important goal of bringing the perspectives and insights of other countries and partners to the United States.
CDC's global health partners include the following:
- The World Health Organization (WHO) is the leading United
Nations (UN) institution charged with determining global
health policy. CDC contributes to WHO's efforts through the
secondment of CDC staff to strategic posts within the WHO structure,
with special attention to the WHO Regional Offices (e.g. PAHO,
AFRO), and through grants to support specific programs of global
importance, such as polio eradication and surveillance for
emerging diseases. In addition, a number of WHO Collaborative
Centers are based within CDC, sharing staff, research initiatives,
and publications for use by the global health community. (See
Appendix C for a list of WHO Collaborating Centers at CDC.)
- The World Bank is the leading institution for investments
in health and development and thus plays a critical role in shaping
global health policy. Other regional development banks may provide
new opportunities to address specific global health issues in
the future. CDC has had assignees at the Bank since 1997.
- The
United Nations Foundation (UNF), with an annual endowment
of $100 million, provides financial support to United Nations agencies for projects in the areas of
child health, population, women's health, and the environment.
CDC collaborates on policy and technical issues, helping to
shape the UNF's health agenda in the developing world. (A CDC
staff member is assigned to UNF.)
- UNICEF, a key partner in child health initiatives,
has been a particularly critical ally in CDC's global immunization
activities. As the final phase of the global campaign against
polio approaches, UNICEF collaboration will continue to be a
critical element as CDC and its partners achieve the goal of
eradication.
- Within the U.S. government, the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) has
had a longstanding relationship with CDC to support common
global health objectives. The Department of Health and Human
Services' Office of Global Health Affairs coordinates global
health policy for the Department, providing opportunities to
CDC, as well as relying on its technical resources. Several
CDC staff members are assigned to USAID to work on these collaborative
initiatives. The Fogarty
International Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
serves as the locus for inter-agency collaborations in global
health. The U.S.
Department of State (DOS) is a crucial partner in carrying
out CDC's overseas programs and activities. DOS is responsible
for assuring that all U.S. Government overseas programs and
activities are consistent with the overall goals and objectives
of U.S. foreign policy. Through its embassies and diplomatic
corps around the world, the Department offers protection and
support for agency personnel on long- and short-term assignments.
- In the private sector, several U.S.
foundations demonstrate an interest in global health issues and
projects by supporting programming in areas important to CDC.
For example, the Rockefeller
Foundation has actively supported the development of "Public Health
Schools Without Walls," which in turn work closely with CDC's Field
Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs). The Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation recently has given high priority
to its global health programs. Its areas of emphasis, including
vaccine delivery, maternal mortality reduction, malaria, and
TB are aligned with CDC's interests, leading to many collaborative
efforts. Rotary International supports the efforts of CDC and
other global partners to add polio to the list of diseases eradicated
from the world - a goal that is within reach.
- Many U.S.-based international non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) are actively engaged in international health
projects. The relief agency CARE,
for example, participates in a joint CARE-CDC
Health Initiative (CCHI), which makes best use of CDC's technical
and scientific expertise and CARE's on-the-ground capabilities
to address critical health issues in countries around the world.
The eradication of Guinea worm and the prevention of river blindness
throughout the world tops the Atlanta-based Carter
Center's list of global health concerns. Through The Carter
Center's efforts, community-based intervention programs primarily
in Africa have greatly reduced the burden of these diseases among
some of the world's poorest people. Combining forces with the
CDC, WHO, UNICEF,
and others, The Carter Center helps make the idea of public-private
partnership in global health a reality.
- Launched in February 2001, the Measles Initiative is a long-term commitment to control measles deaths in Africa by vaccinating 200 million children and preventing 1.2 million deaths over five years. Leading this effort is the American Red Cross, United Nations Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Other key players in the fight against measles include the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and countries and governments affected by measles. While the Measles Initiative is focused in Africa where the majority of measles-related deaths occur, partners also work on a wide-range of health initiatives around the world, including measles control and other vaccination services outside of Africa.
Page last modified: January 30, 2006
