Department of Global Health & Emerging DiseasesStrategic Focus Areas

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant acceleration in the emergence and re-emergence of infectious pathogens, a process has been driven by unprecedented mobility of humans and animals, socio-economic globalization, epidemiologic transitions, and changes in climate. Addressing this complex state of affairs requires for us all to recognize that the drivers of pathogen emergence have their basis in biological, socio-economic, and environmental determinants of health. Global health is truly everyone’s health.

The Department of Global Health and Emerging Diseases will leverage UTMB’s strengths in infectious disease research, training, and clinical care to work alongside our partners to strengthen capacity for global health security, harmonizing the scientific generation of biological and epidemiological data with actionable public health interventions that also address structural inequities.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated longstanding drivers of health inequities within and between countries. The global response to the pandemic also exposed fundamental vulnerabilities in governance for global health and lack of means for collective or coordinated action.

At the same time, as the population ages, the global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, obesity, and cancer are on the rise. Mental health conditions, road traffic accidents, and occupational injuries are also increasingly important public health challenges.

Preparing for future pandemics while addressing NCDs will require collective responsibility for global public health system response, including measures to ensure equitable access to preventive, diagnostic and curative measures.

Ultimately, for policies to be effective there must be implementation strategies that cover the “last mile” to improve health delivery at the community level.

The Department of Global Health and Emerging Diseases will engage in partnerships that strengthen equitable global health policies and advance capacity-strengthening initiatives for health systems at home and around the world

Health promotion is defined by the World Health Organization as “the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health.” (https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-promotion)

Achieving equity in health does not rest on the decisions of individuals – it requires addressing the underlying social, economic, environmental, and political conditions that drive ill health.

The Department of Global Health and Emerging Diseases will work alongside partners to advance multidisciplinary programs that help to create the conditions for individuals and communities to thrive.

In 1987, recognizing the impact of environmental tragedies such as famine, industrial accidents, and ozone degradation, the United Nations convened the World Commission on Environment and Development. The resulting Brundtland Report defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."

As a world-class academic health science center located on the Gulf Coast, UTMB has extensive first-hand experience preparing and responding to natural disasters related to changes in climate.

The Department of Global Health and Emerging Diseases will build and strengthen partnerships with local, regional, and international organizations to build programs that improve the health of our shared environment and strengthen capacity for the Sustainable Development Goals.