The New Era of Health Emergencies: Drivers of today’s outbreaks, and the tools we need to respond to a new threat environment 

The 21st century has been marked by an increasing frequency and severity of disease outbreaks that can stress or overwhelm health systems. This has occurred despite growing knowledge and availability of tools to combat these threats along the prevention, detection, and response continuum - personal protective equipment, improved disease surveillance, rapid diagnostics, treatments and vaccines, and more.  While many factors can lead to a health emergency, this study group will focus on infectious disease outbreaks in particular, in part due to their ability to spread internationally and cause major damage and disruptions.  What are the drivers of and context in which we are experiencing this increase in health emergencies, and what can we do to combat their effects, particularly for the world’s most vulnerable people?