Speeches

Sam Nunn speaks at the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle.
June 11, 2007
NTI Co-Chairman Sam Nunn addresses the need for global cooperation to better protect against biological threats – whether they are naturally occurring or intentionally caused.

Turner, Nunn, Health Experts Release Results of Georgia Exercises, Propose Actions to Improve Preparedness for Bioterrorism and Bird Flu [pdf]
April 18, 2006
The State of Georgia has conducted a series of emergency response exercises designed to test and improve readiness to respond to public health threats, including biological terrorism and avian flu.

Sam Nunn Discusses Need for New Public-Private Partnership to Reduce the Threat of Bioterrorism [pdf]
December 9, 2004
NTI Co-Chairman Sam Nunn says that active leadership of the scientific community is essential to develop norms of scientific behavior that will secure dangerous biological materials without suffocating scientific research.

Regarding the Report of the UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change [pdf]

December 2, 2004
NTI Co-Chairman Sam Nunn commends the panel for recognizing that "we need to do more, faster" to reduce the threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and materials.

"Public Health Preparedness and Our Global Security", by NTI Co-Chairman Sam Nunn [pdf]
June 19, 2002
In remarks at a CDC sponsored conference on "Public Health and the Law," Senator Nunn outlines several of the key policy issues facing the U.S. and the world with a particular focus on the importance of public health becoming an 'indispensable pillar' in our global security framework.

Articles and Op-Eds

"Trust Across Borders: Responding to 2009 H1N1 Influenza in the Middle East"
By Dr. Gresham, Dr. Ramlawi,
Ms. Briski, Ms. Richardson and
Mr. Taylor
December 2009
Published in the Journal of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice and Science, the article defines the positive impact of a Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli disease surveillance network when faced with common infectious disease threats and how other regions in conflict can find common ground to promote health security and cooperation.

"Catching outbreaks wherever they occur"
By Dale Gavlak
October 2009
Published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization (BLT), the article praises MECIDS as a new organization in the Middle East t hat shows how common goals can overcome political differences when it comes to fighting disease and quelling outbreaks.

"Diseases Gaining Ground: SARS Exposes Gaps in Public Health Systems" by Sam Nunn and Margaret Hamburg, M.D. [pdf]
May 26, 2003
Published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, this op-ed outlines the weaknesses in our global health system that have been exposed through the global response to SARS.

Press Releases

New Tuberculosis Lab Developed in North Korea with Support from NTI's Global Health and Security Initiative
February 25, 2010
"With the emergence of drug resistant forms of TB, international cooperation is essential, and this work is vital to reduce biological risks and advance health security," said former Senator Sam Nunn, co-chairman of NTI's Global Health and Security Initiative.

Graduate Scholarships Awarded to Mekong Basin Students to Advance Global Health Security in Cambodia and Laos
November 12, 2008
The Nuclear Threat Initiative's Global Health and Security Initiative (GHSI) and Fondation Mérieux (FMx) have announced that 10 scholarships have been awarded to graduate students in Cambodia and Laos that will allow these veterinary and epidemiology professionals to earn online degrees while continuing to provide critical health care in their home countries.

MECIDS-IBM Technology Wins Computerworld Award
June 2, 2008
The Middle East Consortium on Infectious Disease Surveillance (MECIDS) has been recognized by the Computerworld Honors Program for its work to create a unique technology to enhance data-sharing and epidemiological surveillance.

NTI's Global Health and Security Program Receives Major Grant from Google Foundation
January 17, 2008
The Google Foundation today announced a $2.5 million grant to NTI's Global Health and Security Initiative (GHSI) to greatly enhance its work to rapidly detect, identify and respond to infectious disease outbreaks in Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asian Nations Conduct Joint Exercise in Cambodia to Improve Flu Pandemic ResponseMarch 14, 2007
Senior government officials from six Southeast Asian countries today completed a first-ever simulation exercise designed to test responses to a pandemic influenza emergency.

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Testimony

Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. testifies before the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism
September 10, 2008
Dr. Hamburg emphasized the urgency and unique nature of the bioterror threat and addressed the strategies needed to strengthen biosecurity globally.

Dr. Mark S. Smolinski, testifies at the 2005 Meeting of Experts of the Biological Weapons Convention in Geneva [pdf]
June 15, 2005
NTI's Vice President of Biological Programs and Director of the Global Health and Security Initiative underscored the need to tackle the challenge of safeguarding life sciences through a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach that engages both the biomedical science and security communities.

Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. testifies before the House Committee on Government Reform [pdf]
April 9, 2003
Dr. Hamburg testifies on important concerns raised by the emergence and ongoing response to the SARS outbreak, as well as broader issues of emerging infections, public health and security.

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