NEJM and public health group are launching rival to CDC’s MMWR publication – statnews.com

New Public Health Initiative to Strengthen Global Health Security and Advance SDG 3

Introduction: A Strategic Partnership to Ensure Good Health and Well-being

A new strategic partnership between the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) has been established to launch a “public health alerts” system. This initiative directly supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3), which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, by strengthening global capacity for early warning and management of health risks.

Addressing Institutional Challenges in Public Health Surveillance (SDG 16)

The initiative responds to growing concerns over the reliability and independence of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a historically critical tool for public health. Recent events have undermined this key public institution, posing a challenge to the principles of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), which calls for effective, accountable, and transparent institutions. Key challenges to the MMWR’s function have included:

• Politicization and administrative pressure on scientific reporting.
• Unprecedented pauses in publication due to government shutdowns and administrative directives.
• Instability in staffing and leadership, which has eroded institutional trust among public health practitioners.

A Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Global Health (SDG 17)

In alignment with SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), this collaboration mobilizes expertise and resources from academic, research, and philanthropic sectors to fill a critical gap in public health infrastructure. The new alert system will operate as follows:

1. The alerts will be published as needed in a new, freely accessible section of the NEJM Evidence journal.
2. The system is designed for the rapid dissemination of essential data on disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies.
3. Submissions from the global public health community are actively encouraged to ensure comprehensive and timely reporting.

This effort is part of a broader strategy by CIDRAP to shore up public health functions, including the establishment of the Vaccine Integrity Project for independent vaccine evidence reviews and securing pooled funding from over 65 philanthropic foundations to protect scientific endeavors.

Direct Contributions to SDG 3 Targets

The new public health alert system is poised to make significant contributions toward achieving specific targets within SDG 3:

• Target 3.3: By providing timely data on outbreaks, it will aid in the global effort to combat communicable diseases.
• Target 3.d: It directly strengthens the capacity for early warning, risk reduction, and management of national and global health risks by providing an independent and reliable channel for scientific information.
• Universal Health Coverage: By making crucial public health information freely available, the initiative supports the principle of equitable access to health information, a cornerstone of universal health coverage.

Conclusion: Safeguarding Scientific Integrity for Sustainable Development

The collaboration between NEJM and CIDRAP represents a vital response to the weakening of public health institutions. By creating an independent, science-driven communication channel, this partnership not only addresses an immediate need for reliable health information but also reinforces the foundational principles of the Sustainable Development Goals. It underscores the critical importance of strong institutions (SDG 16) and multi-stakeholder partnerships (SDG 17) in achieving good health and well-being for all (SDG 3).

Analysis of the Article in Relation to Sustainable Development Goals

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • The entire article focuses on public health infrastructure, specifically the dissemination of critical information about disease outbreaks and morbidity. The creation of “public health alerts” by the New England Journal of Medicine and CIDRAP is a direct effort to ensure that health professionals and the public have timely and reliable data to protect and promote health.
2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • The article highlights the weakening of a key public institution, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and its flagship publication, the MMWR. Issues like political pressure, government shutdowns, and layoffs have shaken trust in this institution. The initiative described is a response to this institutional gap, aiming to create a resilient and trustworthy alternative for public health information.
3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
   • The solution presented in the article is fundamentally based on partnerships. It describes a collaboration between a medical journal (NEJM) and a research center (CIDRAP). Furthermore, it details how CIDRAP is turning to a coalition of “more than 65 foundations” to pool resources and fund public health initiatives, demonstrating a multi-stakeholder partnership between civil society and private philanthropy to achieve public health goals.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Under SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • Target 3.d: “Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.” The article directly addresses this by describing the creation of a new system for disseminating “essential data on disease outbreaks.” This new platform of “public health alerts” is designed to serve as an early warning system to manage health risks, filling a gap left by the perceived weakening of the CDC’s MMWR.
2. Under SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • Target 16.6: “Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.” The article details how trust in the MMWR has been “shaken” due to political interference and operational pauses. The new initiative by NEJM and CIDRAP aims to create an alternative that is transparent and accountable to the scientific and public health communities, independent of the political pressures affecting government institutions.
   • Target 16.10: “Ensure public access to information…” The article states that the new “public health alerts” will be “made available for free.” This directly supports the principle of ensuring public access to vital health information, which is crucial for public accountability and personal health decisions.
3. Under SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
   • Target 17.17: “Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships…” The article is a case study of this target in action. It describes a partnership between civil society organizations (NEJM and CIDRAP) and private philanthropy (“more than 65 foundations are going to be pooling their resources”) to shore up public health infrastructure at a time when government support is seen as scarce.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Implied Indicators for Target 3.d (Early Warning Capacity)
   • The article implies that the success of the new initiative can be measured by the timeliness and frequency of the “public health alerts.” The goal is to “convey the information that once was shared in the MMWR with all of us in a very timely way.” Tracking how quickly critical outbreak data is published would be a key performance indicator.
2. Implied Indicators for Target 16.10 (Public Access to Information)
   • A direct indicator is the number and accessibility of published alerts. The article specifies that the alerts will be “made available for free,” so measuring the volume of freely accessible information produced would demonstrate progress toward this target.
3. Implied Indicators for Target 17.17 (Partnerships)
   • The article provides concrete numbers that can serve as indicators. These include the number of foundations involved in the partnership (“more than 65 foundations”) and the amount of financial resources mobilized (“we will be following up with you in the near future not just with words but with dollars”).

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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