NTI Events at the 71st World Health Assembly Highlight Significance of Global Health Security

NTI experts Beth Cameron and Michelle Nalabandian will join hundreds of government officials and experts from around the world next week for the 71st World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, where NTI is involved in two side events that highlight the importance of health and security and the value of a Global Health Security (GHS) Index.

On Wednesday, May 23, NTI has organized a breakfast side event, “Value of a Global Health Security Index” in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). These three organizations are working together to develop a GHS Index that would provide a public benchmarking of global health security conditions and identify country-specific needs, ultimately boosting compliance with international standards for economic preparedness. This event will highlight the potential impact of GHS Index, including the stimulation of political will and accountability for new and
continuing health security investments over time. The four panelists include:

• Honorable Dr. Jane Aceng, Minister of Health, Uganda
• Dr. Scott Dowell, Deputy Director for Surveillance
  and Epidemiology at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Dr. Mukesh Chawla, Adviser for Health, Nutrition and
  Population, World Bank Group
• Dr. Wilmot James, Visiting Professor of Pediatrics
  & International Affairs at Columbia University Medical Center

This event is co-hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World
Bank Group. Support for the event was provided by the Open Philanthropy Project and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

NTI is also involved, along with several other partner organizations in the Global Health Security Agenda Consortium, in the event on Monday, May 21, “Getting Local with Global Health Security: A Pathway Towards Sustainable Action.” This event will convene global and national leaders for a discussion on how investments in global health security strengthen public health systems, promote universal health coverage, and drive economic grown and local research and development. The keynote address will be given by Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Learn more about the work of NTI’s Global Biological Policy and Programs team here.