Humanitarian Aid, Evolution of Public Health and More on New Season of CDC Foundation's Contagious Conversations Podcast

Episodes include conversations with Executive Director of the American Public Health Association Dr. Georges Benjamin, Physician and Maternal Health Advocate Dr. Rasha Khoury and Dean and Professor of Epidemiology at Emory University Dr. Jim Curran

News provided by

CDC Foundation

Feb 19, 2020, 11:03 ET

ATLANTA, Feb. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- How can you provide medical aid to women in areas of instability and conflict? How can we prepare the next generation of the public health workforce? How can we bring diverse views together to tackle the most pressing health challenges of our time? These are some of the topics discussed in Season 4 of the CDC Foundation's podcast, Contagious Conversations, which launched today.

The fourth season of Contagious Conversations features three in-depth conversations with experts who are sharing their perspectives on some of the world's toughest health challenges, including global maternal health, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, how public health has evolved in America, and our nation's needs for the next generation of the public health workforce.

New Contagious Conversations episodes include:

Episode 11: Humanitarian Aid Beyond Borders
Treating people where the need is greatest with Dr. Rasha Khoury

Dr. Rasha Khoury shares her experiences with Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organization that provides medical aid where it's most needed. Doctors Without Borders is the 2019 recipient of the CDC Foundation's Fries Prize for Improving Health.

"This idea of serving people in the most precarious contexts in a nonviolent way, in a nonviolent space, and creating a safe space for patients, regardless of what side of a conflict they're on, really attracted me a great deal. The idea that you could be in solidarity with people who are living in really frightening and unstable spaces and not shying away from that out of fear."

- Podcast comments from Dr. Rasha Khoury, physician in the Bronx, New York, and a member of Doctors Without Borders U.S. board of directors

Episode 12: Public Health's a Team Activity
Building better collaborations with Dr. Georges Benjamin

Dr. Georges Benjamin discusses health and how public health has changed in the United States over time. He also shares insights on how disparities impact health, how data informs decisions and how we can bring many diverse views together to tackle the most pressing health challenges of our time.

"Collaboration is everything—it's very important. We cannot do it by ourselves. We need others to bring a diverse set of skills, life experiences, resources and ideas in terms of priorities to the table for us to really advance a healthy agenda."

- Podcast comments from Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association

Episode 13: Redefining the Unacceptable
Guiding the next generation of the public health workforce with Dr. Jim Curran

Dr. Jim Curran discusses our nation's needs for the next generation of the public health workforce and how our universities, associations and employers are preparing individuals to meet those demands. Dr. Curran also discusses his work at CDC during the very early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, how far the world has come since that challenging time and the road to eliminate the disease.

"We have to have the courage to constantly redefine the unacceptable. That's the way to improve the health of populations."

- Podcast comments from Dr. Jim Curran, dean and professor of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and co-director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research

To listen to Contagious Conversations, subscribe or download on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcasting app. For more information, visit www.cdcfoundation.org/conversations.

About the CDC Foundation
The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the sole entity authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC's critical health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has launched more than 1,000 programs and raised nearly $900 million. The CDC Foundation managed hundreds of CDC-led programs in the United States and in more than 140 countries last year. Visit www.cdcfoundation.org for more information. Follow the Foundation on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

SOURCE CDC Foundation