Ministers of Health and Agriculture and senior health officials from more than 30 countries gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 20-21, 2014, to advance the Global Health Security Agenda (http://www.globalhealth.gov/global-health-topics/global-health-security/...), a global strategy to protect people around the world from infectious diseases. The meeting was hosted by the Government of Indonesia and supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It  focused on combating zoonotic diseases, which are diseases that can be passed between animals and humans.  According to Indonesia's Minister of Health Nafsiah Mboi, "This class of disease is an especially dangerous threat to public health and includes Ebola."

The conference included health experts from prestigious international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). USAID Special Representative for Global Health Security Dr. Dennis Carroll said, "Through the Global Health Security Agenda, we hope to unify nations around a common set of goals and methods to reduce the spread and inpact of infectious diseases and epidemics by strenghening the world's collective ability to more rapidly detect, prevent, and effectively respond to disease outbreaks."