WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Joe Biden\u2019s administration will help 50 countries identify and respond to infectious diseases, with the goal of preventing pandemics like\u00a0the COVID-19 outbreak\u00a0that suddenly\u00a0halted normal life\u00a0around the globe in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. government officials will offer support in the countries,\u00a0most of them located in Africa and Asia, to develop better testing, surveillance, communication and preparedness for\u00a0such outbreaks\u00a0in those countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strategy will help \u201cprevent, detect and effectively respond to biological threats wherever they emerge,\u201d Biden said in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Global Health Security Strategy, the president said, aims to protect people worldwide and \u201cwill make the United States stronger, safer, and healthier than ever before at this critical moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement about the strategy comes as countries have struggled to meet a worldwide accord on responses to future pandemics. Four years after the coronavirus pandemic, prospects of a pandemic treaty\u00a0signed by all 194 of the World Health Organization\u2019s members\u00a0are flailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talks for the treaty are ongoing, with a final text expected to be agreed upon next month in Geneva. It\u2019s meant to be a legally binding treaty that obliges countries to monitor pandemic threats and share scientific findings. But major disputes have emerged over vaccine equity and transferring the technology used to make vaccines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if a deal is hammered out, there would be few consequences for countries that choose not to abide by the treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. will push on with its global health strategy to prevent future pandemics, regardless of a pandemic treaty or not, a senior administration official told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several U.S. government agencies \u2014 including the State Department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health and Human Services and the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID \u2014 will help countries refine their infectious disease response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Health systems around the globe have been overwhelmed with COVID-19 and other health emergencies such as Ebola, malaria and mpox, the CDC said in a statement. The new strategy will help countries rebuild their agencies, the U.S. agency explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGlobal health security is national security, and CDC is proud to contribute its expertise, investments and rapid response to protect the health and safety of the American people and the world,\u201d Mandy Cohen, the CDC\u2019s director, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congo is one country where work has already begun. The U.S. government is helping Congo with its response to\u00a0an mpox virus outbreak, including with immunizations. Mpox, a virus that\u2019s in the same family as the one that causes smallpox, creates painful skin lesions. The World Health Organization declared mpox\u00a0a global emergency\u00a0in 2022, and there have been more than 91,000 cases spanning across 100 countries to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House on Tuesday released a\u00a0website\u00a0with the names of the countries that are participating in the program. Biden officials are seeking to get 100 countries signed onto the program by the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. has devoted billions of dollars, including money raised from private donations, to the effort. Biden, a Democrat, is asking for $1.2 billion for global health safety efforts in his yearly budget proposal to Congress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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