The Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI) is an international partnership created to strengthen global health preparedness and response for the threats of biological, chemical, radio-nuclear terrorism (CBRN) and pandemic influenza. It was launched in November 2001 by the Ministers/Secretaries of Health of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Health Commissioner of the European Union. The World Health Organization (WHO) serves as an expert advisor to the GHSI. A Ministerial-level summit is held every year to share information and coordinate efforts to improve global health security.
GHSI develops and implements activities through a group of Senior Officials (GHSAG) and Working Groups:
• Risk Management and Communications Working Group
• Pandemic Influenza Working Group
• Chemical Events Working Group
• Global Health Security Laboratory Network Working Group
• Radiological/Nuclear Threats Working Group
The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response serves as a GHSAG Senior Official for HHS. OMSPH supports the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in this role, and ASPR has designated representatives that participate in all of the GHSAG working groups.
Recent GHSAG priorities topic areas have included: building a sustainable global infrastructure for medical countermeasures; enhancing laboratory capabilities globally; facilitating the exchange of scientific expertise among members; building collaborations in the field of risk and crisis communications; and improving global early alerting and reporting techniques.