This is a critical time for global health, and the Georgia community is organizing and leading to address the fight against COVID-19 and other public health threats. On December 17th, The Georgia Global Health Alliance (GGHA) partnered with the Bay Area Global Health Alliance in welcoming 75+ policy stakeholders to discuss the future of global health.
Our esteemed speakers, Dr. Rebecca Martin, Director for the Center for Global Health at CDC, and Porter Delaney, Founding Partner of Kyle House Group, a D.C.-based consulting group that advocates for smarter and more effective policy solutions on global development and health presented on the shifting political landscape and its implications for global health and foreign assistance in a world experiencing a global pandemic, COVID-19.
The CDC is the U.S. lead for infectious disease response. The Atlanta-based agency’s breadth and depth of expertise bridges the gap from global to domestic preparedness. CDC’s investments into global health security and decades of global cooperation and support to respond to outbreaks provide strong foundations upon which to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. An example of this are the more than 25 countries who in partnership with CDC stood up CDC-like institutions or National Public Health Institutes (NIPHI) have taken the lead within their countries to coordinate public health preparedness and response activities for COVID-19. However, despite decades of experience and success, gaps in global health security remain. Continued capacity building and a clear understanding of how this capability should be leveraged during a crisis will help to close these gaps.
Looking ahead, significant changes on foreign assistance and global health are forthcoming in Biden Administration according to Mr. Delaney. Restoring foreign assistance as a core pillar of U.S. foreign policy and national security strategy will be a priority. New foreign assistance initiatives focused on pandemic preparedness and response, as well as COVID global response funding will be a focus. While funding for US global health programs has been maintained, there have been real challenges on policy issues, including restrictions on reproductive health, US participation in WHO, UNFPA and broader multilateral systems. Despite unprecedented collaboration and partnerships in response to the coronavirus, the 117th Congress has an enormous job ahead of them.
2020 Georgia Global Health Landscape Study
This event closed with the roll-out of the 2020 Georgia Global Health Landscape Study. This report, conducted by RTI International, assessed the size, scope, and impact of Georgia’s global health sector on the state’s economy. It shows what may have been known for decades, that the state of Georgia has long been at the crossroads of global health, home to some of the world’s top scientists, entrepreneurs, innovators, and advocates working to fight disease around the globe. With at least 232 organizations with a presence in 150+ countries, Georgia’s global leadership and collaboration can attract international investment and generate momentum for further defining Georgia as a hub for excellence in global health.
Georgia organizations are instrumental in the fight against COVID-19 and other global health crises and are vitally important in protecting the health and safety of all people. The data for the report were collected just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. To highlight the great work of Georgia organizations, GGHA invited members to share stories on how they are leading during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Study, 1-Pager and Thought Leader features are available to the public here: https://www.gghalliance.org/2020study
View the Saporta Report feature on the Study here.
The Georgia Global Health Alliance is a division of the new Center for Global Health Innovation.
