Letter from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention
On behalf of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), I applaud the work of the Ad Hoc Committee
on Intergovernmental Organizations of the House of Lords, Upper
Chamber of the British Parliament, to examine the effectiveness
of actions carried out by intergovernmental organizations to control
the global spread of communicable diseases.
In today's world, it is increasingly clear that infectious
diseases pay no attention to borders. During the past five years,
SARS, monkeypox, and avian influenza have moved easily from one
part of the world to another, threatening lives and economies.
Fortunately, outbreaks to date, have been contained and illness
and loss of lives, have been minimized, but the urgent need to
strengthen public health capacity throughout the world to handle
future challenges is very clear.
The scope and intensity of today's global health
challenges means that no single country or agency can address
them. CDC works in close partnership with a wide array of international
agencies and institutions to control the spread of communicable
diseases around the world and is committed to ongoing efforts
to develop new tools and collaborations that will prevent or reduce
the spread of infectious diseases,
In response to your call for evidence, enclosed
are web links to information about CDC communicable disease prevention
and control activities and our efforts to work with other countries
to build their capacity. Attached are summary fact sheets of representative
programs. If you are interested in more details on any of the
programs, we would be happy to arrange a conference call with
one or more of our scientists.
February 2008
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