Task Force for Global Health

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, 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.”1) It is a formal partner of the United Nations.2)

Programs

Affiliations

Leadership

Teri McClure is the Board Chair, and Dave Ross is the President and Chief Executive Officer.3) 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

Donors

History

Founding

TFGH was founded in 1984 as The Task Force for Child Survival by former 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.5)

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 Merck since its founding.6)

The Task Force for Child Survival and Development

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 1990.7)

In 1998, the Task Force hosted the Conference on Global Disease Elimination and Eradication as Public Health Strategies.8)

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 and Melinda.9) In 2000, Foege stepped down as executive director and is succeeded by Mark Rosenberg.10)

In 2002, All Kids Count spawns the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) to “strengthen public health’s approach to conceiving and using information systems.”11)

In 2005, the Mebendazole Donation Initiative (later renamed Children Without Worms) is launched with support from 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.

1)
How We Do It. The Task Force for Global Health. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/lMvZR
2) , 3) , 4)
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
5)
History. The Task Force for Global Health. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/tNE5O
6)
The Task Force for Global Health. Mectizan Donation Program. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/IYBU8
7)
The Global Polio Laboratory Network. Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/5Zs0U
8)
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
9)
Who We Are. The Task Force for Global Health. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/ITjvQ
10)
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
11)
Public Health Informatics Institute. (2009, February 24). Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. https://archive.ph/tzSST
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