WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — President Joe Biden's administration will help 50 countries to identify and respond to infectious diseases.

U.S. government officials will offer support in the countries, most of them in Africa and Asia, to develop better testing, surveillance, communication and preparation.

Global Health Security Strategy, the president said, aims to protect people worldwide and will make the United States “stronger, safer and healthier than ever before at this critical moment.”

The announcement about the strategy comes as countries have struggled to meet a worldwide accord on responses to pandemics. A proposal is underway for a pandemic treaty involving all 194 World Health Organization members. The Biden administration plans to move forward with its new strategy, regardless of whether a treaty is approved.

The U.S. program will rely on several government agencies, including U.S. Department of State, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health and Human Services and U.S. Agency for International Development, to help countries refine infectious-disease response.

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