The CommonHealth

Donald G. McNeil, the prize-winning science and health reporter—45 years with the New York Times—unpacks his newly published memoir, The Wisdom of Plagues. It covers his remarkable personal and professional story, his reflections on the travails facing PEPFAR, the stark lessons of Covid, his "radical" prescriptions for the future, and his reflections three years after abruptly departing the NYT. 

In the third episode of the CommonHealth Live! series, World Health Organization (WHO) Senior Advisor Dr. Scott Dowell joins J. Stephen Morrison for a discussion about the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) concept, development thus far, and plans for 2024. What will it take to bring GHEC to life? What might the U.S. role be?

Dr. Sandro Galea, Dean of the BU School of Public Health, discusses his incisive, provocative new book, ‘Within Reason.’ Its central proposition: public health slipped into illiberalism during Covid-19, a “closing of the mind.” Over the course of the book, Dr. Galea unpacks that striking phenomenon: how and why it happened, what it means, and what needs now to happen to correct course? The loss of trust is the most poignant but not the only price. Give a listen!

Joseph Majkut, Director of the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program, unpacks the big picture of COP28 (Dubai, Nov. 30-Dec 13, 2023), both the formal negotiations and the “trade show.” Is the commitment to “transition away” from fossil fuels a truly pivotal moment? What’s the significance of the launch of the "Loss and Damage Fund" especially with regard to tensions between the North and the South? What to make of the day dedicated to health and climate? How to assess UAE leadership? Ultimately, Dubai is not likely to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Paris and Kyoto. It’s more of a “punctuation mark.” Give a listen!

In the second episode of the CommonHealth Live! series, J. Stephen Morrison speaks with International Rescue Committee (IRC) President and CEO David Miliband about the recently released IRC 2024 Emergency Watchlist. The onset of 2024 has brought with it record levels of humanitarian crises. How and why are global humanitarian crises evolving? How do we address these unprecedented global challenges? What can be done to reduce the impact on affected communities?This event is made possible by the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

Dr. Yanzhong Huang, Council on Foreign Relations and Seton Hall University, argues in the CFR report Negotiating Global Health Security (co-authored with Georgetown Professor Rebecca Katz) that the US-China clash over Covid-19 origins in Wuhan has had a catastrophic impact on US-China relations. A "détente" is now needed. But how is that to be achieved, given the multiple ongoing geopolitical crises? Given what is happening in Congress vis-a-is China? And given that political will at the highest levels is the most significant missing element? “Avoidance” post-Covid has taken root there. Give a listen to hear the answers. 

On the occasion of National Influenza Vaccination Week, former Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, chair of the Coalition to Stop Flu, joins us to discuss the Coalition’s mission and composition, its recent compelling report, ‘The 2022-2023 Influenza Season: Outcomes and Policy Recommendations,’ and the comprehensive legislation it has had a hand in crafting and advancing, The Influenza Act (S. 3219, H.R. 5846 – 118th Congress 2023-2024). Senator Daschle is alarmed by the decline in vaccination levels – a national security threat – combined with the spread of mis and disinformation and the urgent imperative to forge new communications capabilities to rebuild trust and confidence. Trusted messengers, new public-private partnerships, determined and collaborative leadership, additional resources, and hard work: these are essential elements for turning things around. Health equity must also be elevated as a top priority, with a special focus on the elderly, pregnant women, children, and racial and ethnic minorities. Much more work is needed to improve testing capacity and develop new antivirals for flu. 

In this episode recorded in advance of World AIDS Day 2023, Katherine speaks with Ambassador John Nkengasong, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official with the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. They discuss the current challenges around PEPFAR reauthorization; opportunities for enhanced U.S. diplomatic engagement to strengthen domestic and donor funding for global HIV programs; the critical role youth organizations can play in promoting equitable access to HIV prevention, diagnostics, and treatment; and why it is important to involve communities of people living with or at risk of HIV in policy development and program implementation. Check out the video here!

In this episode, Heidi Larson, Professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, speaks with Katherine about the goals of the Global Listening Project, which is focused on “driving real understanding and positive action to better prepare society for times of crisis.” She shares information on the Project’s recent survey results regarding how people in more than 70 countries experienced the Covid-19 pandemic; how people perceive, trust, and adopt new technologies, such as digital apps or mRNA vaccines; and why people in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa seem to be more optimistic than people in other parts of the world about the potential of their health systems to respond to future outbreaks and health crises.

In this episode Merck’s Jenelle Krishnamoorthy, a member of the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security, joins Katherine to discuss the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR); the importance of incentivizing research and development of new amicrobials, even as there is pressure to use them in a limited way; plans for a United Nations High-Level Meeting on AMR in 2024; and opportunities to improve funding, governance, and international collaboration to meet the global threat of AMR in the years to come.