Transnational Public-Private Partnership for Disease Control and other Humanitarian Purposes

I've been blogging over at the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy for the past year in connection with my non-resident research fellowship there, and the fieldwork has taken an interesting turn. In the ever-converging space of diplomacy's public dimension and international development comes a response to the Zika outbreak through public-private partnering. As the mosquito-borne virus spreads, the costs of controling it mount. Governments at all levels in the Americas are working on mosquito eradication, public awareness, and a vaccine. On July 13th, the U.S. Department of State's Office of Global Partnerships and the Bureau of Oceans & International Environmental & Scientific Affairs will convene a "Public-Private Sector Roundtable Discussion on Zika." With so much relevant experience in international crisis response and scientific collaboration, most recently around the Ebola epidemic, discussants will surely be sharing plenty of lessons learned and effective practices. I'll be listening and offering what I can on communication and media interaction as well as culturally sensitive outreach and engagement with citizens in affected nations and their diasporas, pharmaceutical and pest control corporations, philanthropies, and governmental agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Here's hoping for a robust convening that adds to our toolkit for whole-community, sustainable development.