Take as Directed

Latest Episodes:

Improving Health Outcomes by Investing in Nutrition Mar 05, 2019

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Improving nutrition is among the most transformative and cost-effective interventions in global health and food security. In this episode of Take as Directed, Sara Allinder speaks with Dr. Robert Mwadime, Chief of Party of the USAID Integrated Community Agriculture and Nutrition Activity in Uganda, a program administered by Abt Associates. Dr. Mwadime has spent his career working with local governments and donors to administer nutrition and agriculture programs, and shares his thoughts on the future of U.S. investments in nutrition and the importance of multisectoral approaches in improving health outcomes. To learn more about U.S. government nutrition investments in Uganda, visit the CSIS Global Health Policy Center program page for our report titled “Improving Nutrition in East Africa’s Bread Basket”.

The CDC’s Role in the Eastern Congo Ebola Response Feb 26, 2019

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At this year’s Munich Security Conference, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was highlighted as top health security threat of international concern. As of February 17th, there have been 840 cases and 537 deaths in the outbreak, and the response effort continues to encounter insecurity on the ground. In this episode of Take as Directed, Steve Morrison speaks with Dr. Mitch Wolfe, Acting Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Washington, D.C. office and the CDC’s Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Wolfe discusses the role and methods of the CDC in the current Ebola response, as well as what to expect from this outbreak as we look ahead.

Navy Admiral Looks to Turn the Tide on the American Opioid Epidemic Feb 19, 2019

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In this episode, a former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff joins us to discuss the story of his son Jonathan, who died from a fentanyl overdose last year. Admiral James "Sandy" Winnefeld is a retired four-star Navy admiral, and has become a vocal advocate for opioid death prevention. He heads Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic, or S.A.F.E. Project U.S., a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the opioid epidemic in the United States. Admiral Winnefeld describes how difficult it was to find treatment for Jonathan and recounts the challenges of recognizing signs of recovery--and signs of relapse.

Sustaining Momentum for Polio Eradication in Pakistan Feb 12, 2019

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The global campaign to eradicate polio is focused on three countries that remain polio-endemic: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. In this episode of Take As Directed, Senior Fellow Nellie Bristol is joined by Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq of Pakistan, chairperson of the senate committee on delegated legislation. The senator served as the prime minister’s point person on polio eradication from 2013 through 2018. The senator discusses the evolution of Pakistan’s polio program, the challenges remaining in achieving an end to transmission, and her hopes for the new government in sustaining momentum.

Realizing Kakenya’s Dream: Educating Girls and Ending Female Genital Mutilation Feb 05, 2019

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February 6th marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a United Nations-sponsored awareness day meant to highlight efforts to eradicate FGM. An estimated 200 million women and girls today have undergone some form of FGM, a practice that can cause irreversible physical and mental health challenges. In this episode of Take as Directed, CSIS Global Health Policy Center Senior Associate Janet Fleischman speaks with Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, a Kenyan educator, activist, and founder of “Kakenya’s Dream”, a leading nongovernmental organization for girls’ education, health, and empowerment, which also works to end FGM and child marriage. Dr. Ntaiya discusses the personal journey that led her to form “Kakenya’s Dream”, and how her work is helping to develop the next generation of women leaders in her community. Hosted by Janet Fleischman.

Amplifying the Power of Gavi Jan 29, 2019

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Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has had unprecedented success helping low income countries purchase and deliver vaccines. This has helped to increase immunization coverage for many underserved populations. But as global immunization rates have stalled over the last few years, the public/private partnership is looking for new approaches to ensure that vaccines are available to all the world’s children. In this episode of Take as Directed, CSIS senior fellow Nellie Bristol sits down with Adrien de Chaisemartin, Director of Strategy, Funding & Performance at Gavi, to discuss Gavi’s continuing work to improve partner engagement, build management capacity, and bolster immunization systems.

The American Opioids Epidemic Miniseries: It Started with a Letter Jan 28, 2019

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Around 47,600 Americans died in 2017 of opioid overdoses. It’s the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, surpassing car accidents. What makes this crisis have such a wide reach and penetrate racial, economic, and geographic lines? Take As Directed host Steve Morrison dives into its origins of the crisis in the first episode of a special miniseries on the American opioid epidemic. Episode produced in 2018 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Taking the Next Steps Toward Malaria Eradication Jan 22, 2019

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While global rates of malaria have been declining over the last fifteen years, those unprecedented gains have recently slowed. In this episode of Take as Directed, we are joined by Dr. Philip Welkhoff, an expert in disease modeling who is the current director for malaria at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Welkhoff speaks with guest host Robert Newman, GHPC Senior Associate, to address this plateauing of progress while also discussing data integration, the new malaria strategy of the Gates Foundation, and the importance of U.S. funding and leadership in the malaria endgame.

Rethinking Vaccine Delivery Jan 07, 2019

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Greater attention and resources to low-income country vaccination programs over the last decade have resulted in tremendous gains in immunization coverage. But coverage rates have now stalled, calling for new approaches to overcoming enduring barriers to health care access. In this episode of Take as Directed we are joined by Dr. Orin Levine, Director of Vaccine Delivery for the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to discuss the potential of new technologies, strategies, and partnerships to improve vaccination rates and strengthen immunization systems even in the most difficult of settings. Hosted by Nellie Bristol.

Who are the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) who are Attacking Ebola-hit Areas in Eastern Congo? Nov 30, 2018

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The ongoing Ebola crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the first Ebola outbreak in a war zone, is posing unprecedented challenges to responders. Much of the difficulty stems from the difficult security situation in the region, yet the particulars remain a mystery to many. In this episode of Take as Directed, we are joined by Judd Devermont, Director of the CSIS Africa Program, for a conversation that provides critical context on operating in eastern DRC, including clarity on who the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are and perspective on the relationship between the Ebola outbreak and the upcoming, highly anticipated elections in DRC. Hosted by J. Stephen Morrison.

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