Introduction

This report, CDC’s Center for Global Health Responds to Outbreaks, publishes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic affects all Americans daily. The Center for Global Health (CGH) is focused on responding to COVID-19 in the United States (US) and abroad. CGH brings resources and knowledge built through partnership with other nations to fulfill our mission to improve the health, safety, and security of Americans and reduce morbidity and mortality worldwide.

Protecting Americans from infectious disease threats is a top priority for the Center for Global Health. In addition to the important work overseas to stop public health threats where they start, CGH’s global health professionals are translating lessons from decades of global health work to address the pandemic here in the US.

• Through deployments to local U.S. jurisdictions, CGH’s global health experts are sharing their knowledge and expertise in public health program implementation and real-time data analysis and interpretation to inform and tailor local interventions.

• CGH trains disease detectives at the national and community level and is using CDC’s Global Rapid Response Team to serve as surge technical experts for CDC’s domestic response.

• CDC’s COVID-19 International Task Force conducted an in-depth review of other countries’ guidance and strategies related to children returning to school to help inform domestic recommendations.

This report highlights how CDC’s Center for Global Health Responds to Outbreaks— including how CGH is drawing on existing capacities developed overseas in partnership with other nations to address COVID-19. The report describes how programs within the Center for Global Health are adapting to the pandemic to continue addressing long-standing global infectious disease threats. An infectious disease threat anywhere can become a threat everywhere. While CGH is laser-focused on the current global pandemic, the work to monitor and respond to additional global health threats must continue to prepare for an unknown but inevitable next pandemic.