2024 marks The Task Force’s 40th anniversary! Throughout this year our Dispatches newsletter is shining a spotlight on people, partners and programs who have contributed to 40 years of impact. This month we highlight our October 5 open house at our headquarters in Decatur (neighboring Atlanta), Georgia – where hundreds joined us for a family-friendly science expo and panel on “Faces of Global Health,” which was part of the Decatur Book Festival.
See slide show at bottom of story for more photos.
Nearly 350 people visited The Task Force headquarters on October 5 for a family-friendly science expo and global health panel discussion. The event was part of the Decatur Book Festival, one of the largest independent book festivals in the U.S.
The event was the first opportunity for the public to visit the headquarters following the unveiling there earlier this year of the William H. Foege Collaboration Center in honor of the Task Force co-founder, former CDC Director and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient (for his leadership helping to eradicate smallpox). A museum-style visitors center in the lobby showcased The Task Force’s 40-year-history, including videos, photos and interactive stories that highlight the programs and people engaged with the work in more than 150 countries.
At the science expo people of all ages visited 10 interactive stations, featuring activities like wormy worms (guessing the number of intestinal worms in a jar and looking at microscope slides to identify the worms); simulating oral polio vaccines with droplets of water; becoming disease detectives (field epidemiologists) tracking outbreaks real-time; measuring their height with “dose poles” to determine the correct dosage of medicine to prevent and treat neglected tropical diseases; knocking down dominoes to see the benefit of vaccinations in preventing spread of disease; and many other activities representing the wide range of programs at The Task Force. Participants used passports to visit the stations and, once completed, were “certified” as public health champions, receiving special pins and other Task Force items.
The open house included a panel discussion on the “Faces of Global Health,” moderated by Task Force Chief External Relations Officer Lynn Heinisch and featuring four other Task Force experts: Fabien Diomande, Director of the Polio Eradication Surge Capacity Team; Vivian Singletary, Director of the Public Health Informatics Institute; Katie Gass, Director of Research for the Neglected Tropical Diseases Support Center, and Lissandro Torre, Epidemiologist with the Center for Vaccine Equity. Panelists discussed their work, career trajectory and what they’d like people to know about public health.
“Working with the Task Force for Global Health team was one of the highlights of planning the Decatur Book Festival,” said Leslie Wingate, executive director of the festival. “They contributed a dimension to the festival we previously didn’t have – global health and science – with offerings for all ages at their family-friendly science expo and a rich program led by experts in the field of global health.”
As a Decatur Book Festival sponsor, The Task Force had a booth on the Decatur Square, joining dozens of other local organizations interacting with the nearly 10,000 festival attendees who enjoyed a full day of speaking events by nationally-known authors. Task Force visitors had the opportunity to pre-order copies of Task Force founder Dr. Foege’s upcoming book on the history of global health, Change is Possible, as well as his previous books (a history of The Task Force for Global Health titled The Task Force for Child Survival: Secrets of Successful Coalitions and House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox) and other health-related books for all ages.
Dr. Foege discussed the themes in his upcoming book at a May celebration of The Task Force’s 40th anniversary, shown in this video. More details on the October open house are posted on the festival website.
