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Immediate actions countries can take to strengthen their health care workforce
CNN • December 7, 2023
The world does not have enough health care workers, and demand for them is growing faster than supply. The World Health Organization projects a gap of 10 million health workers by 2030.
Ongoing cholera pandemic shows need to go back to basics for healthier today and safer tomorrow
CNN • June 2, 2023
Measures to prepare for the next pandemic are essential, but controlling the many deadly diseases spreading today—including cholera—is the best way to rapidly protect the world from future threats.
What’s A National Public Health Institute To Do?
Health Affairs • December 7, 2022
With the right people, support, scope, independence, relationships, and funding, National Public Health Institutes can protect health and greatly accelerate health progress. Effective action depends on whether public health entities and leaders have sufficient information, power, and authority to act promptly and effectively within a country’s governmental system.
Investing in global health security: Estimating cost requirements for country-level capacity building
PLOS • December 5, 2022
Financing for preparedness and response is critical for both ongoing COVID-19 response and to prepare for the next pandemic. Over five years, an estimated US$124 billion is needed to reach “demonstrated capacity” on each indicator of the JEE for each of the 196 States Parties to the International Health Regulations (IHR). These findings, and the data generated by this effort, provide cost estimates to inform ongoing health security financing discussions at the global level and highlight the significant need for sustainable financing mechanisms for both workforce development and ongoing support for the health and public health workforce.
Lessons from past outbreaks can stop new epidemics in their tracks
CNN • November 4, 2022
Our Epidemics That Didn’t Happen case studies demonstrate what can happen – and what won’t happen – when countries invest in and prioritize preparedness so they are ready to act quickly and strategically when outbreaks strike.
Public Trust Can Make or Break Government Response to Public Health Crisis
GLOBAL HEALTH NOW • October 16, 2022
Our data shows that the strength of people’s trust in their health leaders can determine how a country will fare in a pandemic. For example, we found that people were more likely to take protective actions like washing hands and wearing masks if they trusted their health institutions and government leaders. For Global Health Now, Amanda McClelland, Senior Vice President at Prevent Epidemics and Nandita Murukutla, Vice President of Global Policy and Research at Vital Strategies deliver five recommendations for policymakers to strengthen institutions, build public trust and enable stronger responses to public health crises.
Interactive Report Shows How Countries Prevent Global Epidemics by Stopping Infectious Diseases at the Start
Prevent Epidemics • October 11, 2022
Second Edition of ‘Epidemics That Didn’t Happen’ from Resolve to Save Lives Highlights Need for Continued Investment in Health Security
Preparing for Pandemics and Other Health Threats Societal Approaches to Protect and Improve Health
JAMA Viewpoint • October 10, 2022
There are three big lessons from COVID-19. In a JAMA Viewpoint, Dr. Tom Frieden and Amanda McClelland discuss how focusing on the 3 Rs — a renaissance in public health, robust primary care, and resilient communities — will not only improve preparedness for the next epidemic threat, but improve health and save lives in the interim.
Three Solutions for Public Health—And One Dangerous Idea
The Atlantic • August 31, 2022
The CDC has been the flagship of public health for three generations, and the world is counting on the U.S. to restore the institution. Fixing the agency requires accurate diagnosis, appropriate prescriptions for change, and persistence in seeing needed changes through to actual implementation.
Learn From International Peers to Prevent Future Outbreaks
US News • August 26, 2022
What can we learn from countries that performed better in limiting the health and societal harms of COVID-19?
Investing in health workers can help close the vaccination gap — and improve global health
STAT News • August 19, 2022
Directing funds to hire, train, and protect health workers around the world supports childhood vaccination efforts in three key ways.
National and local capacity key for Africa pandemic response
Devex • June 24, 2022
When a country owns its health security agenda, informed by the needs of its communities, it leads to stronger preparedness globally — not the other way around.
Preventing the Next Epidemic: Seven African Countries and Resolve to Save Lives Outline Specific, Practical Steps to Strengthen Epidemic Preparedness at the Country Level
Prevent Epidemics • May 24, 2022
Experience demonstrates that rapid improvement of country-level preparedness is possible and is essential for stronger global health security
Confronting an Invisible Enemy in Ukraine
Think Global Health • April 21, 2022
There is an acute possibility that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will prolong or worsen COVID-19 in the region and open a pathway for other preventable diseases to spread rapidly.
The Next Covid Wave Is Probably Already on Its Way
The New York Times • March 22, 2022
We must be clear-eyed about fixing a system that has been underfunded for decades. It’s going to take years, resources and improved authorities — with accountability and transparency — for the U.S. to have the modern and secure public health information network needed to protect Americans
Former CDC directors: Coordinating our nation’s health data will save lives
The Hill • March 10, 2022
We must be clear-eyed about fixing a system that has been underfunded for decades. It’s going to take years, resources and improved authorities — with accountability and transparency — for the U.S. to have the modern and secure public health information network needed to protect Americans
Making — and muddling — the case for mask and vaccine mandates
CNN • February 25, 2022
Recommendations for mandates should be explicit and realistic about both the benefit of any mandate and the burden on those mandated to change their behavior.
Moderna and Pfizer’s ethical duties go beyond just creating vaccines
The Hill • February 22, 2022
Pfizer and Moderna must transfer technology so that sufficient quantities of tweaked vaccines can be made to immunize the world in six months.
Why I’m cautiously optimistic about Covid-19
CNN • February 1, 2022
Far, far too many lives have been lost to Covid, and it’s not over yet. But we can learn the lessons from the past two years and work together to create a safer world where, instead of adding to fear of contagion, the connections among us strengthen our health, our economy and our common community.
Don’t underestimate Omicron — especially if you’re unvaccinated
CNN • January 21, 2022
If we work together, we can minimize the impact of Omicron and be in better position to handle whatever Covid-19 or another health threat throws at us next.
Why the Global Fund must take on pandemic preparedness
Devex • January 6, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed flaws in the ability of our global health architecture to prevent and respond to pandemic threats. In a momentous evolution, which may have gone unnoticed amid other debates, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria made pandemic preparedness and response part of its evolving mandate upon adopting its new strategy in November.
Fight Covid by learning so we can roll with the punches: 7 lessons for 2022
CNN • December 20, 2021
It’s been two years since Covid emerged, one year since vaccine distribution began, and one month since Omicron upended hopes for a winter of recovery. As we move into a new year, here are seven life-saving lessons from 2021 that can get us closer to ending the pandemic.
New report on COVID-19 in Africa shows widespread willingness to get vaccinated, underscoring need for consistent supply and additional logistical support
Prevent Epidemics • December 16, 2021
Individual COVID-19 preventive measures, such as handwashing and wearing masks, mark the path forward in protecting people while vaccine efforts scale up
Former CDC director: What’s next with Omicron and the pandemic?
CNN • December 7, 2021
There’s a lot we don’t know yet about Omicron, and definitive answers to the most important questions will likely take weeks or longer. The most valuable resource we need to live well and prosper in the age of Covid is timely, accurate information, accurately interpreted and appropriately acted on.
Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines are our best chance to end this pandemic. Break up their duopoly.
The Washington Post • October 12, 2021
Failure to ramp up vaccine production now could cost lives and prolong the pandemic. The best way to avoid that is to break up the duopoly that Moderna and Pfizer maintain over mRNA vaccines.
This is what we owe the world’s health and care workers, who put their lives on the line for us
CNN • October 3, 2021
Vaccinating all health and care workers globally is both a moral and practical imperative; prioritizing these workers makes all of us safer.
I Ran the C.D.C. Here’s How to Prove That Americans Are Vaccinated.
The New York Times • September 21, 2021
Dr. Tom Frieden discusses five requirements for an accurate, secure and universal COVID-19 vaccination system.
The Delta Variant and Beyond: Learning to Live With Covid
The Wall Street Journal • August 13, 2021
Cases are dramatically up again, but simple protective measures can still control the disease if we deploy them flexibly. In the long run, Covid may help us to recognize that many deadly and expensive health threats are optional. We can choose to adopt programs and policies that can relegate to history many of the infections and conditions that today drive up health care costs and drive down productivity and life expectancy.
Delta is dangerous and spreading — but vaccination can stop it
CNN • July 23, 2021
Variants remain the wild card for the trajectory of the pandemic. Vaccination, masks, ventilation and physical distancing can stop Covid, including Delta.
After 2020, pandemic preparedness budget cuts should be unthinkable
The Hill • July 20, 2021
Despite the unspeakable toll COVID-19 has taken on our families and communities, Congress may slash President Biden’s proposal in the American Jobs Plan for pandemic preparedness funding. We should be doing all we can to prevent anything like COVID-19 from ever happening again.
We cannot afford another India—to prevent a catastrophic third wave of COVID-19 in Africa, look at data to drive the response
CNBC Africa • June 6, 2021
Although the light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel is visible in certain parts of the world, it remains dim across much of Africa. Governments must be vigilant in their continued fight against the disease and use data to find the balance between public health measures and the indirect burdens they pose.
Taming the world’s leading killer: high blood pressure
CNN • June 1, 2021
High blood pressure is the world’s leading killer — and will kill more people, including more young people, than Covid-19. High blood pressure can be prevented, mostly by reducing dietary sodium, and is effectively treated with safe, low-cost medications. Lowering blood pressure is the intervention that can save more lives than any other health care intervention in the US. We know what we need to do, now let’s make it happen.
Former CDC director: Direct Covid-19 vaccines to where they’re needed most
CNN • May 16, 2021
We’re starting to get the Covid-19 pandemic under control, at least in some parts of the world, but the pandemic won’t be over until most of the world is vaccinated. Access to vaccines continues to be a huge challenge.
New report on COVID-19 in Africa shows impact of COVID-19 on African continent has been underestimated
Prevent Epidemics • May 12, 2021
Urgent, strategic action is needed in light of limited vaccine and the mounting threat of new variants.
Don’t be blinded by the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel
CNN • May 2, 2021
Although we’re closer to resuming normal life in the United States, globally the end of the pandemic is far away. With new surges in India and Brazil, we can’t be blinded by the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel in the US. The virus and variants remain a risk.
Former CDC director: We can prevent the next pandemic
CNN • April 27, 2021
This is our now-or-never moment to invest in public health, to prevent the next pandemic, and to ensure that the world is never again so underprepared. Epidemics don’t have to happen.
New Report Shows How Countries Successfully Beat Infectious Disease Outbreaks Before They Became Epidemics
Prevent Epidemics • April 27, 2021
Epidemics That Didn’t Happen: First-of-Its-Kind Interactive Report from Resolve to Save Lives Highlights Global Epidemic Response Successes
We Can Stop Epidemics Before They Happen. Here’s How.
Aspen Ideas • April 22, 2021
Far too often, we highlight the failures. But just as noteworthy are the successes—the disease outbreaks that were swiftly and effectively contained.
Former CDC chief: Think diners, dentists and dollar stores. Make COVID vaccines easy to get.
USA Today • April 16, 2021
A single well-targeted vaccination can save 10 times more lives and prevent 100 times more cases than vaccinating a low-risk person in a low-risk community.
Why Even Well Prepared Countries Failed the Pandemic Test
Foreign Affairs • March 29, 2021
COVID-19 has posed the ultimate test—not just of health systems but of governance. The last year’s deadly and expensive test revealed that governments that work well with limited tools do better than those that work poorly with the best tools.
The U.S. Has the Power to Tamp Down Coronavirus Variants — If We’re Willing to Use It
POLITICO • March 2, 2021
The United States has the power to tamp down coronavirus variants and become a global public health leader through technology transfer, investment, and knowledge sharing.
Now or Never: a letter from Dr. Tom Frieden
Resolve to Save Lives • March 1, 2021
In his Annual Letter, President and CEO Dr. Tom Frieden writes how simplicity, speed, and scale have defined Resolve to Save Lives’ response to COVID-19 and our fight against cardiovascular disease.
New Campaign Encourages Ethiopians To Cut Salt Consumption in Half And Prevent Unhealthy Diets
Prevent Epidemics • February 17, 2021
High Salt Consumption Puts Ethiopians at Risk of Heart Disease and Death
How to Become the Public Health President
Health Affairs • February 16, 2021
President Biden can become the ‘public health president’ by implementing ambitious public health policies.
Will we be ready for the next pandemic?
The Wall Street Journal • February 12, 2021
The world must learn the lessons of COVID-19 to implement readiness systems and policies that are prepare us for the next infectious disease that could be even deadlier than COVID-19.
Saving Black lives from COVID: Churches’ new testing and vaccination push
NY Daily News • February 11, 2021
The Choose Healthy Life Action Plan can help fight COVID-19 and reduce vaccine hesitancy in Black communities by using community churches as testing and vaccination centers.
Comprehensive Review of COVID-19 Vaccine Data Provides Roadmap to Improve US Rollout
Prevent Epidemics • February 2, 2021
Latest Guidance from Resolve to Save Lives Outlines How States and Jurisdictions Can Increase Transparency and Efficiency in Vaccination Data Reporting Nationwide
Food Fight: Fighting for Healthier Food is a Life-or-Death Struggle
Think Global Health • January 28, 2021
Governments should build resilient populations by protecting them from nutrition-related diseases.
See Covid-19 Risk in Your County and a Guide for Daily Life Near You
The New York Times • January 28, 2021
Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, teamed with Johns Hopkins University and The New York Times to publish county-specific guidance for common activities to help you lower your personal risk of getting Covid-19 and to help you protect your community.
How we can keep health care workers safe
CNN • January 24, 2021
Keeping health workers safe is not just a moral imperative — it is a practical one as well. Our lives depend on it.
The CDC was damaged by marginalization and politicization. This is how Biden can fix it.
NBC News • January 14, 2021
The Biden Administration can help build back public trust in the CDC after it has been marginalized and politicized over the past four years.
Protecting our health care workers: how we can prevent epidemics from taking out our front line
Prevent Epidemics • January 14, 2021
Resolve to Save Lives convenes global public health leaders in recommending new actions to protect health care workers.
Which Countries Have Responded Best to Covid-19?
The Wall Street Journal • January 1, 2021
The world should learn from the most successful strategies for testing, quarantine, public communication and economic support.
How to reopen the economy safely? Immunity passports.
Washington Post • December 21, 2020
As more and more people are vaccinated, it’s time to carefully design a system of “immunity passports.”
How to Handle the Covid-19 Vaccine Breakthrough the Right Way
The Wall Street Journal • December 4, 2020
Effective vaccine roll out and distribution plans will help us in our fight against the virus around the country.
Despite Improvement, Most Essential COVID-19 Data Still Not Available for U.S. States
Prevent Epidemics • November 16, 2020
Resolve to Save Lives released their second comprehensive review of COVID-19 information available to the public at the state level, mapping states’ progress toward reporting key COVID-19 indicators and providing actionable steps for improvement.
Ex-CDC Chief Frieden: COVID-19 –Protect vulnerable, let virus spread to the young? Why it’s a terrible plan
Fox News • October 19, 2020
There’s a mistaken and dangerous idea spreading like a virus – that we can let COVID spread among young, healthy people as long as we protect the vulnerable. The idea is appealing but it would backfire.
The path to ‘herd immunity’ would be lined with half a million dead Americans
Washington Post • October 18, 2020
As the covid-19 pandemic continues in the United States and many parts of the world, millions of Americans are increasingly impatient for the economy and society to regain a more normal footing.
Statement from Dr. Tom Frieden on President Trump’s COVID-19 Diagnosis
Prevent Epidemics • October 2, 2020
My thoughts are with the President, First Lady, their family and all those infected with and affected by this virus. This is a reminder that COVID-19 is an ongoing threat to our country and can happen to anyone.
Statement from Dr. Tom Frieden on the death of 200,000 Americans from COVID-19
Prevent Epidemics • September 22, 2020
Every one of the 200,000 Americans killed by COVID-19 is a tragedy, and most of these deaths did not have to happen.
Striking a balance: Public health and social measures in Africa
Daily Maverick • September 2, 2020
Finding the balance between limiting disease transmission, maintaining access to critical services and supporting livelihoods is the public health challenge of this century.
Masks work. Now we need to pay attention to when and where, and which kind.
Washington Post • August 27, 2020
If we all wear a mask when we’re around others, we’ll all be safer. That has been clear for five months. Masks are a simple, low-cost way to protect lives and livelihoods during this pandemic.
New Report Provides Policy Guidance to Promote Widespread Mask-Wearing to Help Contain COVID-19
Prevent Epidemics • August 27, 2020
As scientific understanding of COVID-19 has evolved, the importance of mask-wearing has become clear. Today we released a new report, “Promoting mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic: a policymaker’s guide,” to help communities design and implement evidence-based strategies to promote widespread and correct use of masks.
Essential Indicator Availability by State Matrix
Prevent Epidemics • August 6, 2020
Tracking COVID-19 in the United States: From Information Catastrophe to Empowered Communities
We Searched for Covid-19 Data. Here’s What We Couldn’t Find.
New York Times • July 21, 2020
Fifteen things we need to know about the coronavirus, by Tom Frieden and Cyrus Shahpar.
Most of United States Not Reporting Essential COVID-19 Data
Prevent Epidemics • July 21, 2020
After five months of attempting to control COVID-19, the United States has emerged as one the worst-performing countries in the world, with one in four of all global COVID deaths occurring in the US and a death rate that is among the world’s worst.
We ran the CDC. No president ever politicized its science the way Trump has.
Washington Post • July 14, 2020
As America begins the formidable task of getting our kids back to school and all of us back to work safely amid a pandemic that is only getting worse, public health experts face two opponents: covid-19, but also political leaders and others attempting to undermine the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health and Education Experts Weigh in on How Schools Can Maximize Health and Safety as They Look to Reopen
Prevent Epidemics • July 8, 2020
Dr. Tom Frieden, Former CDC Director and Resolve to Save Lives President, joined by bipartisan former U.S. Secretaries of Education Margaret Spellings and Arne Duncan and Philadelphia Schools Superintendent William R. Hite, Jr. to urge Americans to work together and support our children so schools can open more safely in the Fall.
Will Rollback of Public Health Measures Affect COVID-19 Spread? New Simulator Demonstrates How
Prevent Epidemics • July 1, 2020
Experts from Resolve to Save Lives and Earthrise Media developed a simulator to help guide national decisions on public health and social measures, including stay-at-home orders.
New Study Spotlights Critical Gap In Health Security: Protecting Health Care Workers
Prevent Epidemics • June 24, 2020
Researchers from Resolve to Save Lives and Johns Hopkins University identify practical steps countries can take to protect health workers, curb COVID-19 and prepare for future epidemics.
Bloomberg Philanthropies COVID-19 Global Response Initiative Supports 31 African Countries to Expand Their Pandemic Containment and Provides Training for Nearly 6,000 Healthcare Workers
Prevent Epidemics • June 17, 2020
In the three months since Bloomberg Philanthropies launched its $40 million COVID-19 Global Response Initiative, with partner Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, 31 countries in Africa have been able to deepen and expand their public health efforts to minimize the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Contact Tracing Playbook Provides Guidance to Public Health Officials on Nationwide Efforts to Contain COVID-19
Prevent Epidemics • June 16, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic response in the United States moves to a new stage of containment, Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, announced the release of a new Contact Tracing Playbook to help cities, states, and counties establish trusted and effective contact tracing programs that will reduce the spread of the virus and save lives.
Inside a pandemic, advancing Ethiopia’s healthcare
New Business Ethiopia • June 13, 2020
Up to now, Ethiopia has evaded the worst of the coronavirus pandemic—but that may be changing. What for two months was just a trickle of reported cases of infection is swelling into what could become a flood.
Former CDC Director and Resolve to Save Lives President and CEO, Dr. Tom Frieden, Warns of COVID-19 Data Myths and Misuses, Outlines Metrics that Matter
Prevent Epidemics • June 11, 2020
With the exponential rise in collection of COVID-19 data, experts warn of its misuse. Today, Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC Director and President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of the global health organization Vital Strategies, held a press briefing along with other epidemiology experts, outlining COVID-19 data misconceptions and metrics that matter to guide public health officials.
5 ways to prevent another 100,000 coronavirus deaths in the US (and beyond)
Vox • May 27, 2020
As we hit a gruesome milestone — 100,000 reported deaths from the novel coronavirus in the United States — we must focus on the single most important part of the response: saving the most lives.
Revealing the Toll of COVID-19: New Guidance Helps Governments Uncover the True Scale of the Pandemic
Vital Strategies • May 21, 2020
In the months since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, two indicators have emerged as paramount to coordinating an effective response: the number of cases and the number of deaths, as reported on national and global dashboards.
Dr. Tom Frieden: Coronavirus alert levels — here’s how to recover our economy without risking lives
Fox News • May 20, 2020
If you’ve lived on a coast during hurricane season, driven in a big city with heavy smog, or hiked in woods prone to wildfires, you may have seen a simple color-coded alert. At a glance, it told you if a hidden danger was present that affected you and others — an approaching storm, harmful air pollution, or dry brush ready to burn.
COVID Alert System Protects Health, Promotes Economic Growth and Reduces the Risks of Reopening During the COVID Pandemic
Prevent Epidemics • May 20, 2020
COVID-19 is a long-term threat to public health, with most experts predicting waves of infection until there is a vaccine or highly effective treatment. “Staying Alert: Navigating COVID-19 Risk Toward a New Normal” recommends that governments implement a four-tiered, color-coded level system that grades the current state of risk from red, “4-Very High Risk,” to green, “1-New Normal.” The report was released today by Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of the global health organization Vital Strategies, based on an intensive review of the best practices in countries around the world and states in the U.S.
We need to enter the fifth stage of coronavirus grief: Acceptance
Washington Post • May 14, 2020
The five stages of grief provide a useful framework for thinking about crises caused by the pandemic. Although the concept sometimes oversimplifies a complex process, there are core truths: People tend to accept harsh realities gradually and with difficulty.
A Call for Global Solidarity
Think Global Health • May 13, 2020
More than ever, we live behind walls. In our homes, we stare at them, desperately wanting to leave. Our shops, workplaces and schools are shuttered.
Technology companies can help fight Covid-19
CNN • May 13, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic is a global, all-hands-on-deck moment. Every day, it asks a great deal from all of us, from policymakers and epidemiologists to health care professionals to every person who stays at home to protect others.
Only Saving Lives Will Save Livelihoods
Foreign Affairs • May 13, 2020
The novel coronavirus has spread widely around the world, overwhelming health-care systems and killing hundreds of thousands of people. But fatigue with stay-at-home orders and the consequences of a sudden freeze in economic activity have brought diminished focus on the human cost of the disease.
To beat COVID-19 in Africa, we must find a balance
Ventures • May 11, 2020
When Ebola exploded in West Africa in 2015, communities across Africa worked together to contain the disease and learned firsthand the importance of acting early. Although they faced myriad challenges, governments and their partners were able to form an organized effort to successfully contain the virus.
Lockdown Is a Blunt Tool. We Have a Sharper One.
New York Times • May 5, 2020
We’ve been dealt a bad hand with the coronavirus pandemic. Until we have a vaccine or effective treatment, we have limited tools to fight it.
New Interactive Playbook Provides Critical Tool for World’s Public Health Decision-makers to Manage and Adapt COVID-19 Responses
Prevent Epidemics • April 22, 2020
The Prevent Epidemics Team at Resolve to Save Lives announced today the launch of their new interactive COVID-19 Playbook, a resource to help public health policymakers and other decision-makers around the world manage and adapt their countries’ COVID-19 responses as they move through different phases of the disease curve—from response to recovery.
Former CDC Director and Resolve to Save Lives President and CEO, Dr. Tom Frieden, Releases Detailed Action Plan to Contain the COVID-19 Pandemic and Gradually Reopen Society
Prevent Epidemics • April 17, 2020
As states roll out plans to gradually re-open society,Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC Director and President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of global health organization Vital Strategies, today released a detailed report outlining critical actions governments and society must commit to – and invest in – to get ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.