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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI)

The Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI) is a ministerial-level international partnership among Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Commission, and the World Health Organization (WHO) which works to strengthen global health preparedness and response to biological, chemical, radio-nuclear (CBRN) threats and pandemic influenza

The HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the Director of the Division of International Health Security serve as the U.S. Senior Official and the U.S. Delegation Liaison to GHSI, respectively. DIHS coordinates HHS participation within the five GHSI Working Groups and provides leadership and guidance for the development of international policies and processes to improve public health emergency preparedness.
  ​ Picture described in text.
Ministers/Secretaries of Health of GHSI member countries, the European Commission and the Director-General of the WHO at the GHSI Ministerial Meeting, Paris, December, 2011.  Image courtesy of the Global Health Security Initiative.
DIHS serves as the Executive Secretariat for the Radio-Nuclear Threats Working Group and as the Chair of the Medical Countermeasures (MCM) Task Force. 
 
A ministerial-level meeting is held annually to  discuss top priorities in health security. GHSAG brings together senior officials from each delegation to ensure that minister’s plans and objectives are translated into concrete actions. The GHSI Secretariat is responsible for meeting planning, coordination, and integrated priority-setting. The five  technical/scientific level working groups are responsible for carrying out actions laid out in the initiative’s strategic work plan.

 

GHSI Organizational Structure

The GHSI Organizational Structure consists of three levels:  the Ministerial Level, the Senior Officials Level, and the Technical Level.  the Ministerial Level is comprised of ministers/secretaryies/commssioner from Canada, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, the European Commission, and WHO(Technical Advisor).  The Senior Officials Level consists of the Global Health Security Action Group (GHSAG and the Delegation Liasons.  The Technical Level includes the Risk Management and Communications Working Group (which includes the Communicator's Network, Threat and Risk Assessment, Medical Countermeasures Task Force, and Early Alerting and Reporting), the Global Laboratory Network Working Group, The Pandemic Influenza Working group, the Chemical Events Working Group, and the Radio-Nuclear Threats Working Group.
 

 

  • This page last reviewed: October 25, 2013