Strengthening Health Security: Leveraging Disease-Specific Programs for Broader Impact

Health security threats are no longer episodic disruptions – they are persistent features of the modern global landscape. From emerging zoonoses and resurgent vaccine-preventable diseases to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and environmental health risks, today’s challenges are increasingly complex, transboundary, and disruptive to health systems and economies. At the same time, countries are facing increasing financial pressures with less external support, making it more important to find ways to achieve greater impact with current resources. As countries strive to build more resilient and responsive public health systems, a critical, and often underrecognized, opportunity lies in harnessing the infrastructure of disease-specific programs with proven value.

Over the past several decades, investments in polio, measles, and malaria programs have yielded benefits beyond their original disease-specific mandates. These efforts have also created robust, cross-functional infrastructure: trusted community interfaces, trained health personnel, laboratory and surveillance networks, and delivery systems capable of reaching people in vulnerable situations. Despite not being designed for this purpose, these platforms collectively provide essential components of pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) capacities.

The United Nations Foundation’s policy paper “Strengthening Health Security: Leveraging Disease-Specific Programs for Broader Impact” aims to synthesize recent examples and emerging evidence of the potential for established infectious disease programs to actively contribute to broader global health security goals. It posits that integrating and optimizing these assets is not only feasible but cost-effective and timely. Leveraging proven successes strengthens the case for renewed political and financial commitment from international donors, health ministries, and global health institutions.

Published May 15, 2025