Today, the White House released the 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy, reaffirming its commitment to global health security (GHS), recognizing that disease threats emerging anywhere pose risks everywhere. The Strategy outlines the Administration's approach to working with partners around the world to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks faster. Delivering on this Strategy will protect the health, lives, and livelihood of both the American people and people all over the world against infectious disease threats.
Incorporating lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Strategy further outlines the U.S. government's international support for achieving a stronger, more secure global health security architecture. The Strategy also complements other policies focused on preventing, detecting, and responding to infectious disease threats, including the National Biodefense Strategy, Executive Order 13987, National Security Memorandum-1, and Executive Order 13747.
USAID's work in support of the Strategy builds on 60 years of strengthening health and economic systems, decades of experience with international outbreak and disaster response, and more than 20 years working with countries around the world to develop the global, regional, and country-level health security capabilities needed to prevent, rapidly detect, effectively respond to, and ultimately, recover from emerging infectious disease threats.
USAID's global health security efforts contribute to each of the three goals of the Strategy: (1) Strengthen Global Health Security Capacities through Bilateral Partnerships; (2) Catalyze Political Commitment, Financing, and Leadership to Achieve Health Security; and (3) Increase Linkages Between Health Security and Complementary Programs to Maximize Impact.
KEY ACTIONS
Goal 1: Strengthen Global Health Security Capacities through Bilateral Partnerships
USAID's GHS Program directly contributes to the GHSS 2024 whole-of-government commitment to achieve and sustain demonstrated capacity, or a comparable level, in at least five GHS technical areas in 50 partner countries (or regional entities), and to catalyze other partners to support the same goal in 50 additional countries. Since 2022, USAID has significantly expanded its GHS investments to reach more than 50 countries.
USAID will continue to work with national authorities and other stakeholders - including non-governmental organizations, U.S. and host-country universities, the private sector, multilateral organizations, research institutions, and various local partners - to address the highest priority gaps countries need to fill to prevent and be prepared for pandemics and other health emergencies.
Goal 2: Catalyze Political Commitment, Financing, and Leadership to Achieve Health Security
USAID works to garner the necessary political will to end the cycle of crisis and complacency related to international health security and pandemic preparedness, and works with partners to replace this cycle with continuous financial and political support to more effectively assess, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emerging infectious disease threats, including pandemic threats.
As part of a whole-of-government effort, USAID works with and invests in the Pandemic Fund, which finances critical investments to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities at national, regional, and global levels, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. USAID also works with and invests in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which accelerates the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enables access to these vaccines during outbreaks.
Goal 3: Increase Linkages Between Health Security and Complementary Programs to Maximize Impact
USAID's broader global health and development programs are inextricably linked with GHS investments. USAID leverages its GHS Program to reduce epidemic and pandemic shocks on country health systems and to link national and regional initiatives that build horizontal, non-disease specific capacity - such as safe and secure laboratory and disease surveillance systems, human and animal health workforce, and platforms for procuring, deploying, and managing countermeasures and personnel in response to health emergencies.
All of USAID's global health programs contribute essential support to achieving outbreak preparedness and response objectives, including programs supporting health systems resilience; primary health care; maternal and child health (including immunization) and nutrition; the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI); COVID-19 preparedness and response; and food security.
