Measles, whooping cough, and other vaccine-preventable diseases are on the rise around the world. Cuts to foreign aid, coupled with growing vaccine hesitancy, and persistent gaps in vaccine access are fueling outbreaks in poor and wealthy nations alike. In this conversation, global health experts discuss the drivers of these outbreaks and the solutions that can advance vaccine equity and better public health worldwide.

Background Reading:

• This tracker from CFR’s Think Global Health initiative maps weekly updates of disease outbreaks around the globe.


• This article unpacks the global decline in immunization coverage.


• This backgrounder unpacks the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing disease, and the global rise in vaccine hesitancy.

Host: Thomas J. Bollyky, Bloomberg Chair in Global Health and Director of the Global Health Program, Council on Foreign Relations

Guests: Heidi Larson, Founder and Director, The Vaccine Confidence Project

Seth Berkley, Senior Advisor, Pandemic Center; Adjunct Professor of the Practice in the Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health

William John Moss, Executive Director, International Vaccine Access Center; Professor of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Want more comprehensive analysis of global news and events straight to your inbox? Subscribe to CFR’s Daily News Brief newsletter.

To keep tabs on all CFR events, visit cfr.org/event. To watch this event, please visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilif8cCwErE