The World Health Organization (WHO) has inaugurated a five-year strategy to detect and understand emerging health threats within 24 hours of their appearance in every country by 2030.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus announced the strategy on Monday at the opening of the World Health Summit in Berlin, attended by Germany’s Parliamentary State Secretary for Health, Georg Kippels.
Ghebreyesus said the strategy aimed to strengthen global health security by equipping countries with systems, capacities and partnerships to identify emerging threats rapidly and prevent outbreaks from escalating into epidemics or pandemics.
He said the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence had become integral to global health security since its establishment five years ago, providing a foundation for faster responses.
Ghebreyesus said the new strategy outlined a clear path towards 2030, bringing governments and partners together to ensure countries could respond rapidly to health threats before they developed into major crises.
“Established in 2021 with foundational support from the German Government, the Hub was created to address critical gaps in epidemic intelligence and preparedness exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since its establishment, the Hub has collaborated with 160 WHO Member States, 190 partner organisations and thousands of scientists and policymakers to identify epidemic threats and support rapid public health action.
“The strategy will be implemented through five priority initiatives designed to strengthen disease surveillance, pathogen identification, data analysis, international collaboration and the responsible application of digital technologies and artificial intelligence,” he said.
According to him, the Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources initiative uses artificial intelligence to scan thousands of publicly available sources daily, identifying potential health threats while connecting more than 4,000 experts worldwide.
“The initiative is currently used by more than 125 Member States and 30 regional and international organisations, strengthening the global capacity to identify emerging outbreaks through timely information and collaboration.
“The International Pathogen Surveillance Network strengthens genomic sequencing and bioinformatics capacities to identify and understand emerging pathogens, supporting faster development of diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines against infectious diseases.
“Another initiative, the Collaboratory, connects more than 2,000 modelling and data science experts who can be mobilised rapidly to analyse emerging threats and support evidence-based public health decisions during emergencies,” Ghebreyesus said.
He said the Collaborative Surveillance Initiative operated in more than 83 countries, supporting national institutions, health systems and workforces to detect threats through a One Health approach integrating human, animal and environmental health.
“The Digital Enablers for Public Health Intelligence Initiative will develop secure digital systems that allow countries and partners to share, analyse and use data while promoting responsible adoption of artificial intelligence,” he said.
According to him, the Hub remains a critical pillar of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, convening partners, encouraging innovation and mobilising expertise and resources to strengthen preparedness and responses to international health emergencies.
The WHO chief emphasised that achieving the strategy’s 2030 ambition would require sustained investment, trusted partnerships and stronger cooperation across sectors, scientific disciplines and national borders to improve global protection against emerging health threats.(NAN)
