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. As we look back at our history through the decades, this month we highlight The Task Force in the 2020s.
In 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, The Task Force was poised to contribute and played a central role in the response. Task Force experts provided vaccine safety guidelines as vaccines were developed (Brighton Collaboration); helped nearly 40 low- and middle-income countries set up immunization systems and deliver vaccines (Partnership for International Vaccine Initiatives, PIVI); advised on digital contact tracing of cases (Public Health Informatics Institute, PHII); trained and connected epidemiologists in more than 100 countries on disease surveillance and response (TEPHINET, the Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network); distributed essential protection and treatment to hard-hit communities (MedSurplus Alliance); and leveraged existing supply chains and health programs to respond to the outbreak (multiple Task Force programs working on disease elimination).
As part of the COVID response, a program known as COVIP (the CoVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Program) began helping low- and middle-income countries deploy and evaluate vaccines with the ultimate aim of establishing sustainable systems for adult immunization programs. This team later collaborated with other Task Force programs (PIVI, TEPHINET and PHII) and Africa CDC, with support from The Global Fund, on an initiative known as SONAR, to strengthen early warning disease surveillance systems in a number of high-priority countries in Africa and Asia.
In 2024, The Task Force welcomed a new program, a partnership with the National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM) at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, to protect the health of globally mobile populations. The program, known as the Migration Health Initiative, works with partners to support the health of people experiencing migration, with an initial focus on ensuring that refugee, immigrant and migrant communities within the United States have access to hepatitis B vaccines.
William H. Foege Collaboration Center
In 2024, in celebration of its 40th anniversary and with an eye toward evolving needs, The Task Force launched the William H. Foege Collaboration Center in its newly renovated headquarters in Decatur, Georgia, providing a state-of-the-art facility for The Task Force and partners to collaborate on tackling the world’s most pressing global health challenges.
The six-story building was purchased in 2016 and renovated, thanks to the generous support of Capital Campaign donors, who were honored at a May 2024 event. More than 170 Task Force partners – from government, nonprofits, foundations, the private sector and philanthropy – gathered to unveil the Foege Collaboration Center, named for Task Force Co-Founder Dr. Bill Foege, who spoke at the event.
“The Task Force for Global Health and its partners exemplify what can be achieved when we work together with humanity, clarity of purpose, and humility,” said Hilton Foundation Board Member Conrad N. Hilton III, one of several speakers at the celebration.
Later that year, the building earned LEED certification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the world’s premier green building rating system and LEED Certification reflects a commitment to environmental stewardship, resource efficiency, and occupant well-being. LEED-certified buildings are designed to be environmentally responsible, fostering a sustainable future by conserving resources, reducing waste and minimizing emissions. The building renovation was led by Leapley Construction Group and commercial architecture and interior design firm Warner Summers, who won a Build Georgia Award for their work. The Build Georgia Awards are granted to projects that exemplify outstanding achievement in construction quality, innovation and safety.
Honoring collective progress, with an eye toward the future
During the first four decades of The Task Force, global health progress has been astounding, and The Task Force and its partners have contributed in many ways:
- Reduced child mortality by 60 percent: In 1990, nearly 13 million children under the age of 5 died – one out of every 11 children. By 2021, efforts to reduce preventable diseases had saved millions of lives; 60% fewer children died that year than had in 1990.
- Reduced polio by 99 percent: Polio has been reduced by 99% since 1988. From an estimated 350,000 cases of wild poliovirus in more than 125 endemic countries to just 12 reported cases in two countries in 2023.
- Helped 50 countries eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease (NTD): Fifty countries have eliminated at least one NTD, including diseases like trachoma, river blindness and lymphatic filariasis. Worldwide, 25% fewer people required interventions for NTDs in 2021 compared to 2010 – with several hundred million people no longer at risk of unnecessary disability, disfigurement, or death from these diseases.
Dr. Foege spoke once about the state of the world in 1984, when The Task Force was founded. At the time, measles alone killed more than 3 million children a year. “And when you think of 3 million couples having dinner at night missing their child, then you start understanding what this actually means,” he said. “Not 3 million children, it’s 3 million families that are suffering.”
That perspective continues to drive the work of The Task Force, as do four core values that ground the work: global health equity and social justice; collaboration; consequential compassion; and responsible stewardship of resources. These values will continue to center The Task Force’s approach even as the work evolves to address emerging health issues, such as the impacts of climate change, antimicrobial resistance, and the growing number of people forced to migrate.
Leading up to the 40th anniversary, Dr. Foege sent a message to staff, sharing his thoughts on the milestone.
“It started as such a small venture with a payroll of three people and grew into the enormous program you are working in today,” he wrote. “It is hard to imagine how many lives have been made a bit better because of the work of The Task Force.”
