Congressional briefing to examine the role of innovation in international development

July 23, 2010 by PATH

Digital and data transformation
Join the Global Health Technologies Coalition and Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network for the July 28 briefing in Washington, DC

The public is invited to a congressional briefing, hosted by the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) and the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), to highlight the integral role that research plays in achieving our nation’s long-term foreign assistance goals. Speakers will explore the ways in which research efforts can promote equitable, sustainable solutions to health and development issues in the world’s poorest countries, using the examples of past successes and future opportunities in global health research to develop new technologies, such as vaccines and drugs.

American innovation has contributed to remarkable progress in preventing, diagnosing, and treating conditions such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases. Since 1988, polio cases worldwide have decreased by more than 99 percent in part because of US efforts to eradicate the disease. In addition, 26 countries have reported halving the number of malaria cases and deaths between 2000 and 2007 due in large part to US-driven prevention and treatment efforts.

Despite these breakthroughs, existing global health tools are not sufficient to address drug resistance or new infectious conditions, while only outdated or insufficient products exist for some of the most intractable diseases worldwide. For this reason, leveraging science and technology to develop and deliver new medical innovations is critical to ensure that the United States’ overall development goals are met.

Event details

Date 
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Time 
12:30–2:30 p.m.

Location 
Capitol Visitor Center, Room 212/210, Washington, DC

Featured speakers

  • Maura O’Neill, PhD, Senior Counselor to the Administrator for Innovation, US Agency for International Development
  • Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director for Policy, Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House
  • Jeffrey L. Sturchio, PhD, President and CEO, Global Health Council
  • Corey Casper, MD, MPH, Director, Uganda Program on Cancer and Infectious Diseases and Assistant Member, Vaccine Infectious Disease Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Associate Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Associate Professor, Global Health and Epidemiology, University of Washington
  • Moderator: Susan Dentzer, Editor-in-Chief, Health Affairs

More information

To RSVP, contact Jenni Rothenberg of MFAN at jrothenberg@modernizingforeignassistance.org or 202.464.8191. For more information, contact Rothenberg or Kimberley Lufkin of GHTC at klufkin@ghtcoalition.org.

About the GHTC

Housed at PATH and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Health Technologies Coalition includes more than 30 organizations advocating for research and development of tools to prevent, diagnose, and treat global diseases so health solutions are available when populations need them. More information about the coalition is available on the GHTC website.

Posted July 23, 2010.