Katherine E. Bliss

Senior Fellow and Director, Immunizations and Health Systems Resilience, Global Health Policy Center
Katherine E. Bliss

Katherine E. Bliss brings her expertise in the social sciences, Latin American studies, and international relations to her work analyzing U.S. government support for health programs in low- and middle-income countries. She is particularly interested in how political and cultural perspectives shape approaches to such global health challenges as HIV/AIDS; vaccine-preventable diseases; and access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Trained as a historian, Katherine spent the early part of her career teaching at the university level and publishing books and articles on gender relations and public health in twentieth-century Mexico. A Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship enabled her to shift her focus to global health policy, placing her at the U.S. Department of State, where she worked on environmental health issues and the development of foreign policy approaches to pandemic preparedness. At CSIS, Katherine has previously served as deputy director and senior fellow within both the Americas Program and Global Health Policy Center, where she oversaw a multi-program project on the influence of the BRICS countries on the global health agenda and directed the Project on Global Water Policy. Her recent work has examined the health situation in the context of the Venezuelan political crisis and the challenges facing immunization programs within fragile or disordered settings. Katherine received her A.B. in history and literature, magna cum laude, from Harvard College and her Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. She completed a David E. Bell Fellowship at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.

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The CommonHealth

The Private Sector, Civic Space, and Global Health Advocacy on the Eve of AIDS 2024

With the International AIDS Society’s 25th global conference taking place next week in Munich, Mark Lagon, Chief Policy Officer at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and Bennett Freeman, Associate Fellow with Chatham House, joined Katherine to discuss a new Friends report regarding the role of the private sector and  civil society organizations in advocating for global health programs, including HIV services.

Podcast Episode by Katherine E. Bliss — July 19, 2024

The CommonHealth
Audio Briefs

Immunizations across the Life Course to Strengthen Health Security

An audio version of “Immunizations across the Life Course to Strengthen Health Security,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Katherine E. Bliss. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Katherine E. Bliss — July 15, 2024

Audio Briefs

Immunizations across the Life Course to Strengthen Health Security

By helping to prevent disease outbreaks and strengthen the infrastructure necessary to distribute vaccines equitably and quickly in the event of a pandemic, routine immunization programs can serve as a critical platform for a nation’s global health security.

Commentary by Katherine E. Bliss — July 9, 2024

Advancing U.S.-Canada Life Sciences Cooperation

Please join the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security, the CSIS Americas Program, and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce for a discussion on the opportunities to strengthen regional and global health security between the United States and Canada.

Event — April 3, 2024

The CommonHealth

Dr. Andrés G. (Willy) Lescano, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia: "A Perfect Storm Scenario"

Dr. Andrés (Willy) Lescano, who leads the Emerging Infections and Climate Change Research Unit at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru and was one of the co-authors of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change 2022 report on South America, explains why it has been so challenging to control aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the region, the extent to which urbanization, global warming, and the el Niño phenomenon are driving the current outbreaks, and steps that can be taken to better prepare the health sector for future crises associated with a changing climate.

Podcast Episode by Katherine E. Bliss — March 14, 2024

The CommonHealth

Preventing HPV and Eliminating Cervical Cancer in the Americas

Improving equitable access to HPV prevention, testing and treatment; raising awareness about HPV vaccination; and building capacity around HPV screening will ensure access for young people in Latin America and the Caribbean to essential cancer prevention tools.

Commentary by Katherine E. Bliss — March 4, 2024