About the Center for Global Health (CGH)

CDC’s global health mission is to improve the health, safety, and security of Americans while reducing morbidity and mortality worldwide. This is achieved through its unique technical skills, scientific knowledge and research, collaborative partnerships, and evidence-based, global public health action. CDC, through CGH, executes its global health vision and mission by focusing on three key goal areas: achieving measurable global health impact; assuring global health security; and providing world-renowned public health science leadership.

Disease knows no borders. In today’s interconnected world, a disease threat anywhere can be a health threat everywhere. A pathogen can travel around the globe to major cities in as little as 36 hours. CDC experts are on the frontlines fighting diseases to protect Americans in the U.S. and abroad.

CDC’s global activities protect Americans from major health threats, including HIV, TB, polio, Ebola, Zika, cholera, and malaria. CDC, through CGH, monitors disease outbreaks 24/7 around the world to prevent regional and global health crises that affect health, security, and economic stability abroad and at home.

CGH coordinates global health activities across CDC. CGH has four divisions – Division of Global Health Protection (DGHP), Division of Global HIV & TB (DGHT), Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM), and Global Immunization Division (GID). Each division has a specific focus, but all aim to protect the health of Americans at home and to save lives overseas.

A “Riders for Health” motorcycle courier delivers laboratory samples over rough roads in Liberia. Photo Courtesy: Nicole Hawk

A “Riders for Health” motorcycle courier delivers laboratory samples over rough roads in Liberia. Photo Courtesy: Nicole Hawk

Division Goals

Division of Global Health Protection:

  • Reduce the impact of disease outbreaks and other public health events by monitoring 24/7 for outbreaks and by increasing rapid response to global health emergencies.
  • Protect Americans from deadly and costly infectious disease outbreaks by building capacities in partner countries to effectively prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks at their source.
  • Sustain and strengthen partnerships for global health security.

Division of Global HIV and TB:

  • Drive global progress in HIV prevention and treatment as part of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), moving some of the world’s most effected countries toward HIV epidemic control.
  • Protect Americans at home and abroad by finding, curing, and preventing TB locally before it takes root globally.
  • Use data to drive program impact and cost effectiveness.
  • Strengthen in-country public health systems for long-term sustainability.
  • Sustain long-standing collaborations with Ministries of Health to further enhance the country capacity needed to respond to infectious disease threats.

Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria:

  • Reduce death, illness, and disability from parasitic diseases in the United States.
  • Eliminate the global burden of malaria and targeted neglected tropical diseases.
  • Advance research to detect, prevent, and eliminate parasitic diseases.
Clients of an antenatal clinic in Dawakin-Tofa

Clients of an antenatal clinic in Dawakin-Tofa local government area (Kano State, Nigeria) wait to participate in surveys and outreach activities conducted by Frontline support staff at Dawanau primary health care center.
Photo Courtesy: CDC photo by S. Patrick Kachur

Global Immunization Division:

  • Stop poliovirus transmission.
  • Reduce child mortality from other vaccine-preventable diseases including measles and rubella.
  • Improve and support innovation to address strengthening key components of immunization systems (access, data systems, demand, and workforce) to achieve global goals.
  • Explore how to better support vaccination efforts of epidemic-prone diseases (e.g., Ebola, Japanese encephalitis, meningitis, and yellow fever).
CGH works globally to:

Respond quickly and decisively to threats posed by infectious diseases, such as HIV, TB, vaccine-preventable diseases, and malaria.

Invest in and support immunization to decrease mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio, measlesrubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and rotoviruses.

Implement proven prevention and treatment programs for combatting global epidemics such as HIV, malaria, and TB.

Monitor and report outbreaks from leading disease threats by training public health leaders and health workers and by expanding the public health workforce.

Strengthen public health infrastructure and information systems that inform and sustain data-driven decision-making for fast, effective action.

Research, develop, and evaluate new tools and approaches to combat global health threats.

Partner with Ministries of Health and U.S. agencies to implement, evaluate, and scale up impactful, cost-effective programs to improve health worldwide.