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The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa proved that diseases do not recognize borders.

In today’s interconnected world, an epidemic threat in one country can spread quickly to others. In our struggle to recover from both the Ebola and Zika viruses, the importance of both health security and crosscutting measures to address epidemics is more evident than ever.

Over the past two years, the world has adopted two critical frameworks to improve global health - the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). A recent article I co-authored for the upcoming issue of the Journal of Public Health Policy (1) highlights the need to identify areas of convergence between the SDGs and the GHSA.

Implementing interventions to achieve both the SDGs and the GHSA will ensure that global health programs are cost-effective and collaborative, and will make us more resilient and prepared for epidemics. Aligning the implementation of the SDGs and the GHSA will also allow countries to address problems that amplify epidemics, like weak health systems, widespread poverty, and environmental destruction.

This article was originally published on Devex on October 26, 2016

I was exposed to the plight of children with tuberculosis early in my 32 years of experience as a physician. I was a medical intern in a provincial hospital in Peru's jungle region. I noticed Adrian, a severely malnourished 3-year-old child in the corner of the ward, feverish and breathing with great difficulty. His condition didn't respond to pneumonia treatment, and a chest X-ray revealed liquid surrounding the right lung. My attending physician concluded that Adrian had severe malnutrition and pneumonia and decided to continue his antibiotic treatment.

Adrian died on the third day of my watch. An autopsy revealed the little boy had been afflicted with TB. That was likely why he died, not malnutrition or pneumonia. We later found out that Adrian was living with an uncle who had recently died "coughing blood." My attending physician confessed that he had been so focused on managing the presumed pneumonia that he didn't think about TB as an alternative diagnosis.

Following our recent announcement of MSH’s involvement in Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts in Haiti, the Devex global development media platform interviewed MSH Chief Operating Officer Paul Auxila for an article about the rising threat of cholera in Haiti.

Mr. Auxila told Devex that cholera “needs to be a priority and approached differently than the international community did last time,” referring to the 2010 Haiti earthquake response.

He urged organizations to focus on “greatest impact” interventions, such as oral rehydration therapy. “Coordination is a big problem, just like it was after the earthquake,” he added. Interventions need to be more synergistic, working toward a “common goal” and not bypassing the Haitian government, he told Devex.

MSH is partnering with the Haitian government to rebuild the health system in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. At the government’s request, MSH has begun an assessment of the health system to make recommendations for ways to make it stronger. MSH will also assist in deployment of health workers to stem the cholera outbreak.

One year ago, the UN General Assembly adopted an ambitious new agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 3 of the SDGs requires a focus on health systems strengthening to meet targets for universal health coverage and primary care. MSH and partners hosted many lively discussions on stronger health systems for women and children, epidemic prevention, and prevention of chronic diseases during the 71st UN General Assembly week. Here are some highlights from New York.

A Toast to Health Systems Heroes

Left to right: Health Systems Hero Annette Widmann-Mauz, Parliamentary State Secretary, Germany; Presenter Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant Director General, Health Systems and Innovation, WHO; Health Systems Hero Mr. Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare, Japan; and Health Systems Hero Michael Myers, Managing Director, The Rockefeller Foundation, at "A Toast to Health Systems Heroes." (Photo Credit: David Neff)