The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a new five-year roadmap for its Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Center, with the goal that, by 2030, all countries will be able to identify and analyze emerging health threats within 24 hours of their emergence. The purpose is to curb outbreaks before they escalate into large-scale epidemics or spread to other countries.
This plan aims to provide States with the technical capabilities, surveillance systems, and necessary international partnerships to quickly locate emerging health threats and prevent outbreaks from turning into epidemics or pandemics. The Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, unveiled this strategy during the opening of the Global Health Summit in Berlin, where he emphasized the progress of the Center since its establishment in 2021.
"Five years after its creation, the WHO Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Center has become an integral part of the global health security system," Tedros stated, noting that the new strategy seeks to unite governments and partners around the goal of responding quickly to health threats before they become major crises.
The WHO Center was launched in 2021 with key support from the German Government, in response to the serious shortcomings revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, it has worked with 160 WHO Member States, 190 partner organizations, and thousands of scientists and policymakers to locate new epidemic threats, sequence and identify pathogens, and facilitate the adoption of rapid measures to protect communities on a global scale.
In this context, it promotes the Open Source Epidemiological Intelligence (EIOS) initiative, which uses artificial intelligence to examine thousands of public sources in real-time daily and identify signals of potential health risks. This platform articulates a global community of over 4,000 experts and is used by more than 125 Member States and 30 regional and international organizations.
On the other hand, the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) strengthens capabilities in genomic sequencing and bioinformatics in order to detect and understand emerging pathogens, thus contributing to accelerate the development of diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines.
In addition, the Collaborative Laboratory connects more than 2000 experts in modeling and data science who can be mobilized quickly when new threats arise; and the Collaborative Surveillance Initiative, which is being implemented in more than 83 countries, supports national institutions, systems, and personnel to detect health threats through a "One Health" approach.
Finally, it develops the Digital Facilitators Initiative for Public Health Intelligence, a new program, which will develop secure digital systems that allow countries and partners to share, analyze, and use data, while supporting the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence.
In this context, the United Nations General Assembly has approved a political declaration on prevention, preparedness, and response to pandemics that calls for sustained investments to strengthen national, regional, and global capacities against future threats.
The declaration also urges to conclude negotiations on the annex related to access to pathogens and the sharing of benefits (PABS), a necessary step to open the WHO Pandemic Agreement for signature. The outcome of these negotiations will be examined at the next World Health Assembly, scheduled for May 2027, or earlier, in a special session.