Abstract
“Improving Global Health, Strengthening Global Security” was held in Washington, DC, on November 22, 2010. With the support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC hosted this invitational meeting to bring together nearly 200 leaders from the federal government, the policy community, top think tanks, academia, and major media outlets.
The meeting focused on policies and programs important to improving global public health and to strengthening global security—efforts that collectively comprise global health security. Such efforts include international cooperation in support of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the International Health Regulations (IHR); disease surveillance for outbreaks of international importance and urgency; exchange of technical information and new pathogens for vaccine, medicine, and diagnostic development; and prevention, early warning, and control of serious animal disease outbreaks.
There is momentum on global health security both nationally and internationally, with many distinct programmatic activities across the U.S. government. However, there are comparatively few opportunities for the leaders in the field to meet, share accomplishments, identify common challenges, and consider new approaches. This meeting provided one such opportunity.
This summary report provides a brief synopsis of panel discussions and individual presentations. We invite you to explore the conference website [http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/website/events/2010GlobalHealth/index.html], where you will find videos of the day's discussions as well as the conference agenda, speaker bios, attendee list, and background readings.
—Gigi Kwik Gronvall, PhD, Senior Associate, Center for Biosecurity of UPMC
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