Are you curious about the people who are tackling some of the world’s toughest health challenges and what set them on that path? The CDC Foundation today launched Contagious Conversations, a new podcast that features interviews with individuals who are playing a key role in making the world safer and healthier for us all.

The first season of Contagious Conversations features a series of three in-depth interviews with experts who share their unique perspectives on today’s toughest health challenges, including antibiotic resistance, global disease outbreaks, health equality and more. A second season will launch in Spring 2019.

“Contagious Conversations offers compelling insights and advice from individuals who dedicate their lives to the health and safety of America and the world,” said Judith Monroe, MD, president and chief executive officer of the CDC Foundation. “Each episode takes listeners behind the scenes to learn more about leaders’ career paths, their thoughts about protecting peoples’ health and the power of working together for greater impact.”

Current Contagious Conversations episodes include: 

Episode 1: Outbreaks and Superbugs
Storytelling on the Frontlines with Journalist Maryn McKenna

Independent journalist and author Maryn McKenna describes her path to becoming a journalist, the value of storytelling in reporting complex public health issues, what it's like to report from the frontlines of emergency responses and the impact of antibiotics to the food we eat.

“The point of intersection between public health scientists and journalists telling stories about public health is finding that moment where big data sets can be translated into a narrative that makes sense for the mass audience.”
– Maryn McKenna

Episode 2: Infrastructure, Inclusivity and the ADA
New Pathways to Problem Solving with Dr. Lex Frieden

Lex Frieden, disability rights activist, architect of the Americans with Disabilities Act and 2017 Fries Prize for Improving Health recipient, shares his personal story, his dedication to independent living for people with disabilities and his memories about working closely with former President George H.W. Bush.

“We have to do everything we can to be inclusive in our planning for the workplace, in our planning for the community, and our planning for the world.”
– Lex Frieden, MA, LLD

Episode 3: All Lives Have Equal Value
Philanthropy, Optimism and Taking Risks with Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann explains how she came to lead one of the world’s largest philanthropies, her thoughts about improving the lives of people everywhere and the power of public-private partnerships. 

“A health threat anywhere in the world is a health threat everywhere. So no matter who you are, having a world where people have the chance for a healthy, productive life actually lifts all of us.”  
― Sue Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH

To listen to Contagious Conversations, please subscribe or download on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcasting app. For more information, visit www.cdcfoundation.org/conversations.

For the 12th consecutive year, the CDC Foundation has achieved a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. Four stars is the highest rating awarded by Charity Navigator, the nation's largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities. Only one percent of charities evaluated have received at least 12 consecutive 4-star evaluations.

The CDC Foundation is the independent, nonprofit partner of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In its work, the CDC Foundation helps CDC save and improve more lives through collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, private entities and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world.

The core components of Charity Navigator ratings—financial health, accountability and transparency—are measured annually. This 4-star designation also indicates the CDC Foundation adheres to nonprofit sector best practices and executes its mission in a financially efficient way.

“In our mission to help CDC save and improve lives, we work hard to ensure our donors trust that their investment is being used wisely,” said Judith Monroe, MD, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. “Working hard to earn our 4-star Charity Navigator rating emphasizes our commitment to good governance, financial accountability and programmatic impact.”

As defined by Charity Navigator, a 4-star rating indicates that a charity has exceeded industry standards and outperforms most charities in its cause. Charity Navigator accepts no funding from the organizations it evaluates, ensuring unbiased evaluations, nor does it charge the public for this trusted data. For more information, visit www.charitynavigator.org.

In 2016 during the Zika virus outbreak, Puerto Rico had the highest number of Zika infections in the United States, a high rate of unintended pregnancy and limited access to contraception, including long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), like intrauterine devices and contraceptive implants. Today, The Lancet Public Health published an article examining the initial results of the Zika Contraception Access Network (Z-CAN), one of the strategies established to prevent Zika-related birth defects in Puerto Rico. The article reports that Z-CAN provided services to more than 21,000 women on the island between May 2016 and mid-August 2017 and demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a program to increase access to the full range of reversible contraception within a complex public health response.

Prevention of unintended pregnancy was identified as a primary strategy to reduce adverse Zika-related pregnancy and birth outcomes by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) early in the Zika outbreak. An April 2016 CDC report estimated that 65 percent of pregnancies in Puerto Rico were unintended and approximately 138,000 women were at risk for unintended pregnancy. The report also highlighted that contraception access in Puerto Rico was limited by reduced availability of the full range of reversible methods, high out-of-pocket costs, insufficient provider reimbursement, logistical barriers that limited same-day services, lack of patient education, and a shortage of providers trained in insertion, removal and management of LARCs.

Recognizing the importance of contraception access during the Zika outbreak, the CDC Foundation, with technical assistance from CDC and in collaboration with a diverse group of stakeholders and private donors, established Z-CAN in Puerto Rico in 2016. Z-CAN used contraception as a medical countermeasure to reduce the number of poor pregnancy and birth outcomes associated with Zika infection during pregnancy by preventing unintended pregnancy among women who chose to delay or avoid pregnancy.

“We are very pleased with the impact of Z-CAN and extremely grateful to all the donors and partners who quickly stepped forward to support the program during the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico,” said Judith Monroe, MD, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. “Strong partnerships from government, philanthropic, health and corporate sectors were essential to the success of Z-CAN and helped to protect more women in Puerto Rico, thereby reducing Zika-related birth defects.”

For the Zika response, Z-CAN rapidly established a network of physicians at clinics across Puerto Rico trained to provide the full range of FDA-approved reversible contraceptive methods at no cost to women who chose to delay or avoid a pregnancy during the Zika outbreak. The program also included a health communications campaign, titled Ante la Duda, Pregunta, to engage women and make them aware of Z-CAN.

Among the findings highlighted in the article are:

• Z-CAN was a short-term response for rapid implementation of reversible contraceptive services in a complex emergency setting in Puerto Rico. This model could be replicated or adapted as part of future emergency response efforts.
• The program served more than 21,000 women from May 2016 to mid-August 2017. (The CDC Foundation estimates Z-CAN in total served more than 27,000 women before ending in September 2017.)
• Z-CAN increased physician and staff capacity in contraception knowledge, counseling and initiation, as well as management of contraceptive methods, including insertion and removal of LARCs.
• Over two-thirds of women (67.5 percent) chose and received a LARC method; 24.9 percent chose either oral contraceptive pills, the transdermal patch, the vaginal ring, or depo medroxyprogesterone acetate injection; 2.9 percent chose condoms alone; and 4.5 percent did not receive a contraceptive method.

“Z-CAN demonstrates that it is possible to rapidly design, implement and scale a high-quality contraception intervention as part of a response to a public health emergency,” said Eva Lathrop, MD, MPH, an associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine who is the lead author of the article and was also the deputy for contraception on the Pregnancy and Birth Defects Task Force during CDC’s Zika virus response efforts. “This feasibility program took place in one U.S. territory; the data and lessons learned here could help apply quick action in other public health emergencies.” 

The success of Z-CAN was driven by the close coordination between partners, including the Puerto Rico Department of Health; the Puerto Rico Primary Care Association; relevant federal agencies, particularly CDC; the physicians and staff participating in Z-CAN and the CDC Foundation. In addition, the CDC Foundation secured large-scale donations of contraceptive products and services from a variety of companies and organizations, including Bayer, Allergan, Church & Dwight, Americares and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Medicines360, Merck & Co., Inc., Pfizer, Mylan, Teva Pharmaceuticals, RB, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, Upstream USA, and MarketVision, Culture Inspired Marketing. Funding for Z-CAN was provided by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Pfizer Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

“The Z-CAN program changed how medicine is practiced in Puerto Rico, providing contraceptive access, information and counseling to thousands of women on the island,” said Gladysmaria Figueroa Rubero, MD, a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist in Puerto Rico and a Z-CAN provider. “For the first time, I was able to offer patients the best contraceptive options without concern about cost or availability. We empowered women and made a healthier Puerto Rico.”