Plans for a Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy

(US Dept of State) Health threats such as COVID-19, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and many others continue to demonstrate that health security is national security. A virus can spread quickly across borders and around the globe, endangering lives, disrupting how countries and communities function every day, and impacting our safety, security, and stability – here at home and in every part of the world. Recognizing the scope and potential scale of these challenges, after careful review, I notified Congress today of my intention to establish the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy to ensure the Department is well-organized to strengthen global health security and to address the growing national security challenges presented by global health crises. I intend to ask our current U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, renowned public health leader Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong, to be the first head of the new bureau.