The CommonHealth

Dr. Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim, Sudan Minister of Health, speaks to the astronomic scale of health and humanitarian demands in Sudan, the largest globally, three and a half years after the outbreak of war that has featured war crimes by both sides, cleaved Sudan into two de facto partitioned zones, and involves continued intense fighting over contested zones in Kordofan and Blue Nile. There is widespread, armed deliberate targeting of civilians, health services, clinics and hospitals. There is very little if any progress in reaching a negotiated peace settlement, an unconditional humanitarian truce, or in creating humanitarian corridors. External financing remains a fraction of what is required. Despite these stark realities, the Minister remains determined to restore services, improve access, and plan for the future. Progress has been achieved recently in restoring some primary care and hospitals, in reaching isolated populations in South Kordofan in extreme distress, and in working in close partnership with the World Food Program, UNICEF and WHO. Dangerous outbreaks in cholera and measles have been contained through national vaccination campaigns. Millions of displaced have returned to Khartoum. Food relief reaches 4 million, including 2 million in Darfur and almost 1 million in Kordofan. Planning for rehabilitation of the health sector has commenced. A wildcard is whether the heightened threat of a return to war between Ethiopia versus Eritrea and the TPLF will merge into Sudan's internal war and result in a regionalized conflagration. 

It has been 25 years since a series of letters containing anthrax powder were distributed through the U.S. postal system in an act of bioterrorism. The 25th anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on how the United States responded to these anthrax attacks and to explore U.S. efforts to deter future bioterrorist attacks, including the ability to identify and attribute attacks, impose consequences, and mitigate the impacts on the health and welfare of the American public. Maj. Gen. Paul Friedrichs (ret.) Senior Adviser, CSIS Global Health Policy Center, will moderate a discussion on how lessons learned from the 2001 anthrax attacks have been applied to the U.S. biodefense enterprise, and what more is needed to continue protecting Americans from deliberate biological threats. He will be joined by Dr. Wendi Kuhnert, Deputy Director, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; former Senator Richard Burr, Co-Chair, CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security and Principal Policy Advisor and Health Policy Strategic Consulting Practice Chair, DLA Piper; and Stewart Simonson, Senior Adviser, CSIS Global Health Policy Center.

Drs. Armand Sprecher and Adi Nadimpalli, MSF, directed on-the-ground operations in Ituri and North Kivu provinces in recent months. They unpack why no one should feel comfortable with a runaway Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC that continues to outstrip the response. Reassuring statements from other sources notwithstanding.

Megan Ranney, Dean of the Yale School of Public Health for the past three years plus, reflects on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. And what she has learned and the innovations she has spearheaded leading Yale in an uncertain, highly volatile moment. "The slow destruction of trust is perhaps the greatest challenge."  We will not see any change so long as "we haven't done anything about it."  

Zipline has drawn attention for its record of success delivering life-saving medical products by drone through its expanding network across key African partner countries, including Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Rwanda. Its on-demand supply chain approach has expanded access to vaccines, emergency blood products, and other treatments, especially in hard-to-reach rural areas, contributing to dramatic gains in reaching zero-dose children, treating severe malaria, and reducing maternal mortality. The company has also been a subject of interest following its $150 million award from the U.S. Department of State, as a model for the innovative, public-private partnerships that are a stated priority of the America First Global Health Strategy, and its new approach to commercial diplomacy. Please join the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security for a discussion reflecting on Zipline’s work to expand its delivery network, the evolution of its partnership with African partner governments and the U.S. State Department, and what the company has learned about the potential for emerging technologies to increase health access and outcomes. J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center will moderate the discussion with Caitlin Burton, CEO of Zipline's International Business.