Core Capabilities
A diverse public health workforce ensures we have the capacity to address complex diseases and swiftly respond to new threats. To accomplish our vision, CDC needs to maintain and build a highly trained, cutting edge, and flexible scientific and programmatic workforce that reflects the communities in which it serves, and support the development of such a workforce at every level of government in the U.S. A diverse, multi-disciplinary workforce will create more inclusive and accessible climates, policies, and practices for broader public health impact.
Develop and deploy world-class data and analytics, to promote seamless reporting of clinical laboratory data and other essential data to public health; ensure interoperability among core public health surveillance systems; enable secure bi-directional data sharing and exchange; and support cross-cutting upgrades, advanced analytics, and shared services. As a strategic asset, public health data systems and the data CDC collects should be connected, resilient, adaptable, and sustainable. These systems and assets should be managed with continuous upgrading, integration, and deployment. Through real-time monitoring, modeling and outbreak analytics, CDC transforms data to public health action and supports decision makers who need information to mitigate the effects of disease threats, such as social and economic disruption.
As the reference laboratory for the world, CDC must ensure that its laboratories are at the state-of-the-art in science, quality, and safety. CDC is a world leader in laboratory science, which is essential for CDC’s work. CDC, working with partner public health laboratories, must have sufficient capability and capacity to guide public health actions with extensive and reliable scientific information.
Quickly respond to outbreaks at their source, both domestic and abroad. CDC’s foremost responsibility is to respond to outbreaks, which are becoming ever more complex and frequent, to protect health, save lives, and protect livelihoods. The world counts on CDC to implement appropriate, equitable, and immediate early interventions and prevention strategies, which could prevent an aggressive outbreak from becoming an epidemic and prevent an epidemic in a country or region from developing into a worldwide pandemic.
Build on the current foundation for strong global health capacity and domestic preparedness. State, local, and community expertise and a strategic global footprint refocused to the highest-risk regions of the world will help ensure an adaptable, resilient, better coordinated system, and better prepared countries that can address disease threats at their source.