Management Sciences for Health Calls for Continued Investments in Global Health Security

Arlington, VA—February 6, 2018—Management Sciences for Health (MSH) stands with the global health community, and with the millions of people we serve across the globe each day, to urge the U.S. government to reconsider planned reductions to programs that are essential to health and national security, and to focus on continuing to invest in strengthening health systems in the world’s poorest countries.

“We are concerned over recent reports that the CDC plans to dramatically scale back its activities to support the Global Health Security Agenda and want to remind our government of the vital role of this program in promoting global health security and protecting the health and national security of Americans,” said Marian Wentworth, MSH’s President and CEO. “The risks of deadly and costly pandemic threats are higher than ever, especially in countries with the weakest health systems. An undetected or uncontained infectious disease outbreak in another part of the world can reach America in a matter of hours, with devastating human and economic costs for every country in its wake.”

In a letter submitted last week to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, a coalition of global health organizations representing more than 200 groups and companies, which includes MSH, urged the administration to reconsider the planned reductions to global health security programs.

“U.S. leadership has allowed us to lay the foundation for an effective response to epidemic threats, but we cannot afford to stop now.” said Ashley Arabasadi, MSH’s Health Security Policy Advisor and Chair of the Global Health Security Agenda Consortium. “Sustainable progress on this issue requires continued engagement from all of us, and a greater emphasis on community preparedness in order to stop epidemics at their source.”

As leaders in the Global Health Security Agenda Consortium, MSH is committed to helping raise the voice of civil society in the development of a revised Global Health Security Agenda, a step that will reduce systemic barriers and create the opportunities needed for multi-sectoral action across countries.

MSH is devoted to creating strong health systems that are resilient, sustainable, and that seek to ensure equitable, affordable access to high-quality services for all who need them.