Reflections on the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Global Health Security Agenda

On October 6-8, 2018, the 5h Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Ministerial Meeting was held in Bali, Indonesia. This summit aimed “to review the work done to date by GHSA, successes and challenges encountered, and to chart the way forward. Under the theme ‘Advancing Global Partnerships’, the meeting will further elaborate on the existing and possible partnerships at the global and regional levels, as well as a broader engagement of the non-governmental stakeholders in the whole process of our work.” The GHSA is growing with partnership including 64 nations, international organizations, and non-governmental stakeholders.

In partnership with Next Generation Global Health Security Network, GMU’s Schar School Biodefense graduate program sponsored two student fellowships to attend through the George Mason Global Health Security Student Ambassador program. These two students, Annette Prieto and Saskia Popescu, represented GMU Biodefense and have provided a report on their experiences in conjunction with NextGen’s coordinator, Jamechia D. Hoyle, and other NextGen representatives. This is the second year for the George Mason Global Health Security Student Ambassador program and you can read the recap of last year’s summit in Uganda here.

We’re pleased to provide you with reflections from these three days focused on the past, present, and future of the GHSA. Below you’ll find brief sections of and links to the reflections from Dr. Hoyle, and our student ambassadors. You can also access the entire page here (also available in the Word doc here), which includes all reflections from Dr. Hoyle, the student ambassadors, and members of the Next Generation Global Health Security Network.

Next Generation Global Health Security Network Coordinator, Jamechia D. Hoyle
“The 3-day event included a variety of high-level updates and more intimate discussions in side events on next steps under the newly-launched GHSA 2024. Under the GHSA 2024 Framework, the initiative will move toward a more structured approach with “clear governance, collaboration structures and processes, increased engagement of the broader GHSA community, tracking and measurement of progress and enhanced accountability for delivery on commitments”. With over 100 countries expected to complete an external evaluation of health security capacity under this new framework, GHSA members and relevant partners remain committed to undergo planning and resource mobilization to address gaps. However, as repeatedly discussed during the Ministerial Meeting, a key issue remains: financing health security.” Continue reading…

George Mason Global Health Security Student Ambassadors

Saskia Popescu, Biodefense Doctoral Candidate
“While the DRC battles an outbreak of Ebola virus disease and influenza hits the Northern Hemisphere, one might think that antimicrobial resistance was an afterthought at this meeting. The GHSA and those invested in its future are used to putting out fires and still battling the slow burning threats, like antimicrobial resistance, which means that this topic was a frequent point of discussion. Throughout the presentations and sessions, the topic of antimicrobial resistance was frequently brought up, especially in the context of One Health. In the U.S. alone, 23,000 people die a year as a result of resistance infections. The latest WHO reportsreveal a global issue in which the most common infections are increasingly becoming drug resistant. From the agricultural sector to healthcare and the environment, combatting antimicrobial resistance is extremely challenging and many at the meeting vocalized their concerns with such a chimeric dilemma.” Continue Reading..

Annette Prieto, Biodefense MS Candidate
“Although the theme for the 5th Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Ministerial Meeting was “Advancing Global Partnerships,” session 3 was the first session that offered insight into the many ways global partnerships can and should be approached for the GHSA 2024. The panel was composed of diverse leaders from different sectors and countries, highlighting the importance of using a multi-sectoral method to achieve the overarching targets of GHSA 2024. The panel discussed a wide range of topics. The first panelist, Dr. Nick Adkin, Deputy Director of Global Health Security, Department of Health and Social Care, United Kingdom, started the session with a specific but enormous problem to global health security: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR affects not only public health, but also trade and food safety.” Continue reading..