All Communities, Everywhere:Public Health Connects Us All

Antimalarial resistance is increasing around the world, a threat that could lead to more malaria infections, treatment failures and deaths. This threat is greatest in Africa, where, in many countries, malaria is the leading cause of death and disease. In response, the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Partnership for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring in Africa (PARMA) network. In 2022, with support from the CDC Foundation and the Gates Foundation, the first PARMA hub was developed in the International Center for Research and Training in Applied Genomics and Health Surveillance at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal. This state-of-the-art laboratory is the first of its kind in Africa, training scientists and researchers from neighboring countries to identify the genetic mutations associated with antimalarial resistance—bolstering malaria prevention efforts across the region.

Established in 1951, CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) has trained more than 4,000 disease detectives to investigate and respond to a wide range of public health challenges and emergencies. To support that mission, the EIS Alumni Association (EISAA), managed by the CDC Foundation, raises awareness of the EIS program through wide-ranging communications, networking and award activities. In 2024, EISAA members launched a campaign to raise a minimum of $100,000 to establish the Leading the Way endowment at the CDC Foundation. The goal of the endowment is to develop the next generation of EIS officers, bring in new recruits into the EIS pipeline and celebrate the accomplishments and milestones of EIS officers and alumni, ensuring the sustainability of the alumni association and their efforts to raise awareness about the vital work of public health professionals.

Disasters can strike anywhere, any time. The CDC Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund provides immediate, flexible resources for addressing emergencies that affect public health—natural disasters, emerging disease outbreaks or bioterrorist threats. Previous funds have been used to respond rapidly to the West Africa Ebola response, the Zika and dengue outbreaks, the Haiti earthquake, multiple hurricanes and other disease outbreaks. Through the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Elevance Health CARES and a multitude of other donors, the CDC Foundation is able to quickly utilize prepositioned funding to support CDC’s work and the public health system—to move fast in a world where public health threats are more unpredictable than ever.

The 2023 James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health was awarded to Nobel Prize Winner Katalin Karikó, PhD, and former CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, MD (RADM, USPHS, RET). Karikó was honored for her pioneering work in advancing the mRNA platform, the discovery of which has profoundly impacted the field of vaccines. Schuchat was honored for her work to prevent infant deaths due to Group B Streptococcal disease, saving millions of lives through extraordinary public health leadership. The CDC Foundation manages the Fries Prize for Improving Health. Made possible through the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation, the award recognizes an outstanding leader who has made major accomplishments in health improvement, with the general criterion of the greatest good for the greatest number of people. This marks the first time in the more than 30-year history of the Fries Prize that two individuals simultaneously received this recognition.

Measles is considered one of the world’s most contagious diseases, posing a significant global health risk. The two-dose measles and rubella vaccine is 97 percent effective against measles, but delivering this injectable vaccine around the world can be challenging. With support from the Gates Foundation, researchers at CDC, Micron Biomedical Inc., the Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the CDC Foundation completed the phase 1/phase 2 trial of the measles and rubella microarray patch in The Gambia, West Africa. Roughly the size of a silver dollar and coated with microscopic needles that painlessly and quickly deliver the vaccine, the microarray patch is easier to transport and administer than injectable vaccines. In the trial, more than 90 percent of infants were protected from measles, and 100 percent were protected from rubella through the patch—a promising tool in the ongoing fight against this global health threat.

Since 2022, the CDC Foundation has partnered with the Puerto Rico Department of Health Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory to build their capacity to respond quickly to epidemiologic outbreaks. Initially intended to bolster COVID-19 testing capacity, the partnership has evolved to address ongoing needs by improving and updating lab equipment, procuring vital lab supplies and contracting for repair and maintenance of lab equipment, expanding the reach of the lab’s services while reducing wait times for vital supplies. Set to continue through 2026, the collaboration between the Puerto Rico Advanced Molecular Diagnostics Lab, the CDC Foundation and dedicated vendors exemplifies a model of effective partnership and procurement.

Medical examiner and coroner offices conduct medicolegal death investigations (MDIs) to determine the cause and manner of sudden, unexpected deaths. Sharing up-to-date information with public health and other partners is critical. MDI Connect, a forum for medical examiners’ and coroners’ offices and their data sharing partners and software vendors, provides a platform these investigators can use to streamline data exchange, making it easier for their electronic systems to link and communicate. With the support of CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the upgrades help public health officials mount a more rapid response to health threats in their community and allows grieving families faster access to death certificates. More than a dozen states have received funding to implement data modernization projects. The CDC Foundation provides technical support for participating MDI offices and has created a website and videos to increase awareness of the project and demonstrate feasibility.

The overdose epidemic killed more than 100,000 people in the United States last year, according to CDC’s 2023 provisional data. But drug overdose deaths dropped 17 percent in the United States between July 2023 to July 2024—the largest decrease on record. The CDC Foundation’s Overdose Response Strategy program is an innovative partnership between public health and public safety that is working at the community level to help reduce drug overdoses. Currently, there are 61 two-person teams across the United States and its territories who gather and analyze data on overdoses and advise jurisdictions on the latest prevention, protection and harm reduction strategies, like increasing access to naloxone—the emergency medicine designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. Also, as part of CDC’s Overdose Data to Action program, the CDC Foundation in fiscal year 2024 supported more than 70 field staff stationed across 45 jurisdictions who employ various data types to enhance drug overdose prevention efforts and are working on behalf of health departments across the nation. These programs enable rural and urban communities to adapt prevention strategies to local needs, where access to care and the overdose epidemic vary widely.