The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a new five-year strategy for its Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, charting a path towards a world where every country can detect and understand emerging health threats within 24 hours of their appearance by 2030.
Strengthening rapid detection is a cornerstone of global health security, helping countries contain outbreaks before they escalate into larger epidemics or spread internationally, said the WHO press release.
The Hub’s strategy aims to equip every country with the capabilities needed to rapidly identify and understand emerging health threats, thus supporting them in developing the systems, capacities and partnerships necessary to prevent outbreaks from escalating into epidemics or pandemics.
The WHO Hub was created in 2021 with foundational support from the German Government in response to the critical gaps exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and has worked with 160 WHO Member States, 190 partner organizations, and thousands of scientists and policymakers around the world.
Speaking at the opening of the World Health Summit in Berlin, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Five years after its establishment, the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence has become an integral part of the global health security system.”
“Its new strategy charts a clear path towards 2030, uniting governments and partners around a shared goal: a world in which every country can rapidly respond to health threats before they turn into major crises.”
Under the next five-year strategy, the Hub will build on the achievements and deliver its work through various priority initiatives.
