====== Task Force for Global Health ======

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The **Task Force for Global Health** is a supra-national non-governmental organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, [[United States of America]], with a field office in Addis Ababa, [[africa:Ethiopia]].

TFGH is recognized by the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) as a non-State actor, allowing them to operate with tremendous influence in official relations with the "global entity."((//How We Do It.// The Task Force for Global Health. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/lMvZR)) It is a formal partner of the [[United Nations]].((//Annual Report 2021.// The Task Force for Global Health. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220215172458/https://www.taskforce.org/annual-report-2021/#section_2))
===== Programs =====

The Task Force has a wide portfolio of influential [[global health]] programs.

| [[Brighton Collaboration]]  | [[Children Without Worms]]  |
| [[Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination]]  | [[CoVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Program]] (CoVIP)  |
| [[Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases]]  | [[Focus Area for Compassion and Ethics]] (FACE)  |
| [[Global Funders Consortium for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development]]  | [[Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy]]  | 
| [[Health Campaign Effectiveness Coalition]] (HCE)  | [[International Trachoma Initiative]] (ITI)  |
| [[Mectizan Donation Program]] (MDP)  | [[Mectizan Expert Committee]] (MEC)  |
| [[MedSurplus Alliance]]  | [[National Certification Committee]] (for safe handling and containment of all [[polioviruses]])  | 
| [[Neglected Tropical Diseases Support Center]] (NTD-SC)  | [[Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction]] (PIVI)  | 
| [[Polio Eradication Center]]  | [[Public Health Informatics Institute]] (PHII)  |
| [[Ready2Respond]]  | [[Soil-Transmitted Helminths Coalition]]  | 
| [[Trachoma Expert Committee]] (TEC)  | [[Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network]] (TEPHINET)  |
| [[Voices for Vaccines]] (VFV)  |

Additionally, the Task Force launched their Council for Opportunity, Diversity and Equity (CODE) to "become a role model by being actively engaged in diversity and equity efforts, and to help foster a sense of belonging in our organization and community through education, action, and public health services."
===== Affiliations =====

==== Leadership ====

[[Teri McClure]] is the Board Chair, and [[Dave Ross]] is the President and Chief Executive Officer.((//Annual Report 2021.// The Task Force for Global Health. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220215172458/https://www.taskforce.org/annual-report-2021/#section_2)) The Board of Directors includes representatives from [[Atlantic Capital Bank]], [[Emory University School of Medicine]], [[Ernst & Young]], [[Evidation Health]], [[Hewlett Packard]], the [[Robert W. Woodruff Foundation]], and [[UPS]].
==== Partners ====

Some of the Task Force's major partners include:

| [[Ascension Global Mission]]  | [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]]  | 
| [[Center for Disease Control and Prevention|U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC)  | [[Conrad N. Hilton Foundation]]  |
| [[deBeaumont Foundation]]  | [[pharmaceutical_companies:Johnson & Johnson]]  |
| [[pharmaceutical_companies:Merck]]  | [[pharmaceutical_companies:Novartis]]  |
| [[pharmaceutical_companies:Pfizer]]  |  [[Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]]  |
| [[UK Aid]]  | [[USAID]]  |
| [[World Health Organization]] (WHO)  |

==== Donors ====

The Task Force has received donations from many [[pharmaceutical companies]] and other notable entities, including [[pharmaceutical_companies:Abbott]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:AbbVie]], [[American Endowment Foundation]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Bayer]], the [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]], [[BioScience]], [[Bruyere Research Institute]], [[Catholic Health Association]], [[Center for Compassionate Leadership]], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC), the [[CDC Foundation]], [[Center for Global Health Innovation]], the [[Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations]] (CEPI), [[Conrad N. Hilton Foundation]], [[medical_technology_companies:Dexcom]], [[Eagle Medical Services]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Eisai]], [[Emory University]], [[pharmamceutical_companies:Genentech]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Gilead Sciences]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:GlaxoSmithKline]], [[Hewlett Packard]], [[Hiroshima University]], [[International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations]] (IFPMA), [[Izumi Foundation]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Johnson & Johnson]], [[Medical Bridges]], [[MedShare]], [[MedWish]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Merck]], [[National Association of Chronic Disease Directors]], [[National Health Institute]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Novartis]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Pfizer]], [[Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Roche]], [[Sanofi Espoir Foundation]], [[Scripps]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Seqirus]], [[medical_technology_companies:Siemens Healthcare]], [[Stanford University]], [[Supplies Over Seas]], [[Templeton World Charity Foundation]], U.K. Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office ([[UK Aid]]), U.S. Agency for International Development ([[USAID]]), [[U.S. Department of State]], U.S. [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH), [[United Nations Children’s Fund]], [[Wellcome Trust]], and the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO).((//Annual Report 2021.// The Task Force for Global Health. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220215172458/https://www.taskforce.org/annual-report-2021/#section_2))
===== History =====

==== Founding ====

TFGH was founded in 1984 as The Task Force for Child Survival by former [[center for disease control and prevention|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] Director Dr. [[Bill Foege]] and his colleagues [[Carol Walters]] and [[Bill Watson]], with the specific goal of raising low childhood immunization rates in developing countries. The Task Force’s founding partners were the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO), [[UNICEF]], [[Rockefeller Foundation]], the [[World Bank]], and the [[United Nations Development Programme]].((//History.// The Task Force for Global Health. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/tNE5O))

==== Mectizan Donation Program ====

In 1987, TFGH participates in the launch of the [[Mectizan Donation Program]] to treat [[river blindness]] in developing countries. [[Mectizan]] is a brand name for [[ivermectin]], with millions of doses donated by [[pharmaceutical_companies:Merck]] since its founding.((//The Task Force for Global Health.// Mectizan Donation Program. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/IYBU8))

==== The Task Force for Child Survival and Development ====

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In 1991, the organization changed its name to The Task Force for Child Survival and Development. 

In 1992, the TFCSD launched [[All Kids Count]] to develop community-based immunization registries in the [[United States of America]].

In 1995, the TFCSD began to work with partners to build the [[Polio Eradication Laboratory Network]], which had started in 1990.((//The Global Polio Laboratory Network.// Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/5Zs0U))

In 1998, the Task Force hosted the [[Conference on Global Disease Elimination and Eradication as Public Health Strategies]].((Conference on Global Disease Elimination and Eradication as Public Health Strategies (1998: Atlanta, G., Goodman, R. A., Foster, K. L., Trowbridge, F. L., Figueroa, J. P., & Organization, W. H. (1998). //Global disease elimination and eradication as public health strategies : proceedings of a conference, Atlanta, Georgia, U. S. A., 23-25 February 1996.// Apps.who.int. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/42172))

Between 1999 and 2001, Bill Foege served as Senior Medical Advisor for the [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]]. During his time, he became a close friend and mentor to [[Bill Gates|Bill]] and [[Melinda Gates|Melinda]].((//Who We Are.// The Task Force for Global Health. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/ITjvQ)) In 2000, Foege stepped down as executive director and is succeeded by [[Mark Rosenberg]].((Rosenberg, M. (2018). //Howard Hiatt: How This Extraordinary Mentor Transformed Health with Science and Compassion.// Google Books. MIT Press. https://books.google.ca/books?id=CLZyDwAAQBAJ))

In 2002, All Kids Count spawns the [[Public Health Informatics Institute]] (PHII) to "strengthen public health’s approach to conceiving and using information systems."((//Public Health Informatics Institute.// (2009, February 24). Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. https://archive.ph/tzSST))

In 2005, the [[Mebendazole Donation Initiative]] (later renamed [[Children Without Worms]]) is launched with support from [[pharmaceutical_companies:Johnson & Johnson]] to reduce the burden of soil-transmitted [[helminth]] infections (intestinal worms) in school-aged children in [[Africa]], [[Asia]], and [[Central America]]. The [[Polio Antiviral Drugs Initiative]] is formed to support [[polio]] eradication. The [[Lymphatic Filariasis Support Center]] (later becoming the [[Neglected Tropical Diseases Support Center]]) moved from [[Emory University]] to the Task Force.

In 2007, the [[African Health Workforce Project]] became part of the Task Force.

In 2008, the [[Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network]] (TEPHINET) merges with The Task Force. The Task Force moves to a new headquarters building in Decatur, Georgia.

In 2009, the [[International Trachoma Initiative]] (ITI) merges with the Task Force and begins scaling up efforts to eliminate [[trachoma]] as a [[public health]] problem. The Task Force changes its name to The Task Force for Global Health.

==== Vaccine Equity ====

In 2011, the [[Center for Vaccine Equity]] (now consisting of the [[Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction]], [[Polio Eradication Center]], [[Global Funders Consortium for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development]], the [[Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination]], and the [[Brighton Collaboration]]) is founded to "provide all people with equal access to [[vaccines]] and to reduce the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases." In 2013, the Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI) is launched to increase uptake of seasonal [[influenza vaccines]] in low- and middle-income countries.

In 2013, the Task Force receives the $2-million [[Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize]], the world’s largest humanitarian award. Mark Rosenberg retires as president and chief executive officer. He is succeeded by [[Dave Ross]].

In 2018, the Task Force moves to its new headquarters in downtown Decatur. At this point, fifteen programs now share The Task Force umbrella including the [[Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy]], [[MedSurplus Alliance]], and the [[Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination]].