Capitol Hill Symposium: Zika Crisis & Implications for US Policy
Honorary Co-Hosts: Congresswoman Susan Brooks (IN-5), Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Congresswoman Katherine Clark (MA-5), Congressman Eliot Engel (NY-16), Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-25), and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23)
With Zika transmission reported in 24 countries across the Americas, and likely to spread further, the disease is quickly becoming a serious crisis. While it has received considerable media attention, policy responses remain relatively slow and uncoordinated. Many of the complex issues that Zika raises for Latin America—including inadequate health care and insufficient or inaccurate public information about the risks of the disease—need to be more effectively addressed. Moreover, the United States plays a critical role in developing a vaccine, preventing the spread of the disease, and assisting a regional response.
This symposium is co-sponsored by the Inter-American Dialogue and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. In addition to remarks by the hosts and speakers, the event will feature an open exchange with participants.
Follow the conversation on Twitter at @The_Dialogue, @oneillinstitute, and #ZikaDialogue
Speakers:
Jeffrey Crowley
Distinguished scholar, and Director of National HIV/AIDS Initiative, O’Neill Institute
Jacqueline Pitanguy
Founder and executive director, CEPIA (Rio de Janeiro)
Daniel Lucey
Adjunct professor of microbiology and immunology, Georgetown University Medical Center; Senior Scholar, O’Neill Institute
Moderator:
Peter Hakim
senior fellow and president emeritus, Inter-American Dialogue
Jeffrey Crowley is a distinguished scholar and the program director of the National HIV/AIDS Initiative at the O’Neill Institute, as well as the former Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy. Jacqueline Pitanguy is the founder and executive director of Citizenship, Studies, Information and Action (CEPIA) in Rio de Janeiro and former cabinet member as president of the National Council for Women’s Rights. Daniel Lucey is adjunct professor of microbiology and immunology at Georgetown University Medical Center trained in infectious diseases and public health.