About Us

We are a leading global public health organization and a trusted partner of governments and civil society organizations around the world.

Vital Strategies helps governments strengthen their public health systems to contend with the most important and difficult health challenges. We design solutions that can scale rapidly and improve the lives of millions of people. Our mission is to work in partnership to reimagine evidence-based, locally driven policies and practices to advance public health.

A public health system is the often-invisible web of protections that help us lead long, productive and healthy lives. It is regulations that keep toxins out of our food and pollutants out of the air we breathe. It is data that informs decisions about health policy, and systems that empower people to make healthier choices.

Vital Strategies’ vision is a world where everyone is protected by equitable and effective public health systems.”
Vital Strategies’ Global Vision

Our Values

Our organizational values are the foundation of all of our work.

Inclusive collaboration
We engage others, both inside and outside of the organization, to find the best solutions. We seek to listen to different perspectives and incorporate them into clear decision-making processes.

Respect
With interest and humility, we seek to understand the context where we work and learn from the expertise and experience of those with whom we work.

Commitment to learning
We reflect on our progress, build on our knowledge and adjust our approach as needed to achieve the best outcomes.

Ability to adapt
We are able and willing to adapt to new and evolving circumstances to ensure relevance and effectiveness of our work.

Vital Strategies is committed to the highest standards of ethical practice and has guidelines that address diversity, working with the pharmaceutical industry, corruption and prevent trafficking.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

In June 2020, Vital Strategies’ Board of Trustees passed a resolution reaffirming its deep and heartfelt commitment to work alongside management to continue to broaden Vital’s efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of the operations and governance of Vital Strategies. Read more about Vital’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion within the organization and in our work here.

Duty of Care Commitment

Vital Strategies has a moral and legal Duty of Care to ensure that reasonably foreseeable risks to employees and associated personnel* are identified; that employees and associated personnel are informed of and can voluntarily choose to assume or decline such risks; and that Vital Strategies provides the needed support, resources, information, and training to reasonably mitigate the risks to which they are exposed on behalf of Vital Strategies.

*Employees and associated personnel include all Vital Strategies employees, board members, independent contractors, interns and volunteers or others during the course of their work on behalf of Vital Strategies, in any location.

We’re helping governments acquire the knowledge and tools they need to make rapid progress against cancer, heart disease, obesity, drug overdose, road crashes and other leading causes of disease, injury and death.

We’re working for a world where a little girl growing up in New Delhi, Cape Town or São Paolo has the same opportunity for health as a girl growing up anywhere.

With your partnership, we know we can make that happen, and billions of people can live longer, healthier lives.

Our Story

Vital Strategies started in a hazy café in 2003 in New Delhi, India, where our founders, including current President and CEO José Luis Castro, met and agreed to take on a complex challenge: Working towards a future where lifesaving drugs were no longer stuck on loading docks, or where critical data sat unexamined while policies stalled on the public agenda.

They were all too aware that millions of people, especially in low- and middle-income countries, were dying from entirely preventable causes—tobacco alone took the lives of nearly seven million annually.

The organization they envisioned would be driven by the belief that every person deserves to be protected by a strong public health system. It would ground its work in scientific evidence and best-practice approaches, form strong working partnerships with governments and civil society groups, and act with a speed that matched the urgency of the challenge.

In January 2016, their vision was fully realized. Formed out of a merger between World Lung Foundation and The Union, North America, Vital Strategies was launched to bridge the gap between pressing public health needs and effective solutions. Whether we are addressing the impact of urban air pollution or overdose prevention, we build agile teams of experts, strategists and researchers to advance scalable, sustainable policies and ultimately save lives.