When looking back on the top news stories of 2017, one that certainly rises to the top is the record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season. Who can forget the series of hurricanes in late August and September that wreaked destruction on portions of the continental United States and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Each day headlines highlight dangerous disease outbreaks that strike fear because of their capacity to rapidly infect populations across the globe. Through the Global Health Security Agenda, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with 31 countries to accelerate their ability to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats. The CDC Foundation is supporting CDC's work with partners in the West African country of Burkina Faso to advance these Global Health Security efforts.

Without strong public health management and efficient organizational performance, many important global health initiatives in low-resource countries fall short of their intended goals. How can this challenge be addressed?

Did you know that sickle cell disease (SCD), is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting an estimated 90,000 to 100,000 Americans? SCD can be extremely painful and is associated with a number of severe health complications.

With its yellow walls and simple tin roof, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (lab in Bo, Sierra Leone, would be easy to overlook. Although there were no indications that this tiny lab sat squarely on the front lines in the fight against Ebola, it was vital to efforts to turn back the epidemic in Sierra Leone.

Early on a Sunday morning in Liberia, West Africa, a small group of CDC Foundation staff, along with representatives of eHealth Africa and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, had the opportunity to see firsthand the challenges and successes that come with tracking down contacts of Ebola patients in Liberia.

Old Colony YMCA in Brockton, Massachusetts, recently discovered something startling: a single neighborhood more burdened by poor health such as asthma, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol than surrounding areas. Most surprising, however, was that this particular area had a lower prevalence of unhealthy behaviors like binge drinking than other locations within Brockton.

In 2016, Tashira, 22, of Puerto Rico got pregnant with her second child. Tashira didn’t plan to have another baby so soon, but she got pregnant when she ran out of birth control pills. During one summer visit to a health clinic in San Juan, Tashira disclosed her anxiety about the current Zika virus outbreak and the link between Zika infection during pregnancy and birth defects.

The thermometer nears 95 degrees at 8:00 a.m. in Laye, Burkina Faso, a small village about 20 miles from the capital city of Ouagadougou. Though the temperature will top 105 degrees today, the heat has not kept the mothers of a few dozen children from walking or biking to their local dispensary.