Secretary of State Antony Blinken notified Congress of his intent to establish the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy.
Blinken said the goal is to strengthen global health security and address the growing national security challenges presented by global health crises in a news release issued Dec. 13.
“Global health threats can spread quickly across borders, endangering lives and livelihoods. The @StateDept must be equipped to address these threats, which is why I notified Congress of my plan to establish a Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy,” Blinken said in a Dec. 13 post on Twitter.
The new bureau would bring together the Office of International Health and Biodefense and the functions of the Coordinator for Global COVID-19 Response and Health Security with the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, according to the release. Blinken also announced he intends to ask U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, renowned public health leader Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong, to be the first head of the new bureau.
“COVID-19, Ebola and other diseases have taught us that a health threat anywhere is a threat everywhere. Working with Congress, @StateDept plans to establish a new Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy to better prevent, detect and respond to health threats globally,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a Twitter post.
Blinken said he looks forward to working with Congress in establishing the new bureau, the release reported.
