Media Alert: Insights at Meridian with Dr. Atul Gawande, Assistant Administrator for Global Health, USAID
Meridian International Center is pleased to host The Honorable Dr. Atul Gawande on March 23, from 8:30 –10:00 AM ET at Meridian House.
Guests will hear insights on new global health policy efforts in the wake of COVID-19, including the importance of strong, resilient, and accessible primary health care. Dr. Gawande will also discuss international health security and how it ties into the global health ecosystem. There will be a moderated Q&A session following the discussion.
To attend the in-person program or request an interview with a speaker, please reach out to Meridian’s Director of Communications, Danielle Najjar, at DNajjar@meridian.org.
Register for the virtual program here.
About
Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the largest reduction in life expectancy since World War II. Yet, as with most global health issues, this decrease affects populations differently within and across borders. The COVID-19 pandemic starkly highlighted the historical and structural barriers that minorities and underserved populations experience in accessing healthcare.
As we collectively strive towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, global health inequities continue to limit many populations’ ability to thrive. Meridian will bring together leaders from multilateral organizations, the foreign diplomatic corps, and the private sector to discuss the economic and social linkages between global health inequalities and development and to explore different resources to combat them.
Date: March 23, 2023
Time: 8:30 -10:00 AM ET (8:30 AM ET - Breakfast and Arrival | 9:00 AM ET - Speaking Program and Discussion)
Location: Meridian House (1630 Crescent Place NW, Washington, DC 20009)
Note: Complimentary parking is available on-site. Please follow all street parking signs/regulations.
Speaker Biography
Dr. Atul Gawande is the Assistant Administrator for Global Health. He is a renowned surgeon, writer, and public health leader. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, he was a practicing general and endocrine surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
He was founder and chair of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and of Lifebox, a nonprofit making surgery safer globally. He also co-founded CIC Health, a public benefit corporation supporting pandemic response operations nationally, and served as a member of the Biden transition COVID-19 Advisory Board.
From 2018-2020, he was CEO of Haven, the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase healthcare venture.
In addition, Atul was a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker magazine and has written four New York Times best-selling books: Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and Being Mortal.
He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the winner of two National Magazine Awards, AcademyHealth’s Impact Award for highest research impact on healthcare, a MacArthur Fellowship, and the Lewis Thomas Award for writing about science.
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Meridian International Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit diplomacy center that connects leaders through culture and collaboration to drive solutions for global challenges. Founded 60 years ago, Meridian has equipped thousands of leaders with the networks, insights, and cultural context essential for nonpartisan work on shared issues. Meridian strengthens engagement between the United States and the world through diplomacy, global leadership, and culture because we believe we are stronger when globally engaged.