The CDC Prevention Strategy

The mission of CDC is to promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. As the nation’s prevention agency, CDC accomplishes its mission by working with partners throughout the nation and the world to monitor health, formulate prevention strategies, develop sound public health policies, implement prevention strategies, promote healthy behaviors, and foster safe and healthful environments. In keeping with this mission, CDC has strategic plans that address certain specific infectious disease threats, including HIV/AIDS, TB, STDs, and selected vaccinepreventable diseases. The concept of disease emergence has important implications for each of these. Opportunistic infections in HIV-infected persons require cost-effective prevention strategies; drug resistance has become a barrier to TB control; STDs have been implicated as factors in chronic diseases (e.g., human papillomavirus and cervical cancer); and emerging diseases necessitate the ongoing assessment of vaccine development priorities (e.g., pneumococcal disease in children, respiratory syncytial virus [RSV] pneumonia, malaria). Strengthened efforts in the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases will complement and improve the effectiveness of current efforts in HIV/AIDS, TB, STDs, and immunizations as well as other important infectious diseases. To provide the vigilance and rapid response required to effectively address emerging infectious diseases, significant improvements in public health policy, program design, and infrastructure are needed. A far-reaching and comprehensive strategy, carefully integrated with broader plans for health care reform, is required. The CDC plan described below contains four critical goals that address specific IOM recommendations in the context of a broader vision for revitalizing our nation’s ability to detect, contain, and most importantly, prevent the emerging infectious diseases that threaten populations both here and abroad. This plan reflects the commitment of CDC to work with its partners in health departments, clinical practice, academia, private industry, and international health to meet the challenge of important emerging public health problems. It also embodies CDC’s mission to prevent and control infectious disease, and addresses high priority infectious diseases in disadvantaged populations and underserved minorities, women, and children. Implementation of this plan with emphasis on extramural programs will strengthen the public health infrastructure in the United States at the local, state, and federal levels, and contribute to strengthening global surveillance networks. Most importantly, implementation of this plan will help the public health system identify, control, and prevent new, emerging, and drug-resistant diseases before they cause widespread epidemics, thereby reducing the cost of infectious diseases and improving the health and welfare of all Americans. Goals and Objectives