Geneva : The World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a new five-year strategy aimed at enabling every country to detect and understand emerging health threats within 24 hours of their appearance by 2030, strengthening global health security and helping prevent outbreaks from escalating into epidemics or pandemics.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, said that the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, established in 2021, has become an integral part of the global health security system. The remarks came during the opening of the World Health Summit in Berlin.
Dr. Ghebreyesus noted that the Hub has worked with 160 WHO Member States and 190 partner organisations since its establishment to strengthen the early detection of epidemic threats.
The strategy outlines five priority initiatives, including the use of artificial intelligence to identify potential health threats, enhancing genomic surveillance of pathogens, developing surveillance and data-sharing systems, and mobilising scientific expertise to support rapid responses.
The organisation emphasised that achieving the strategy’s objectives requires sustained investment and close international cooperation to strengthen countries’ capacities to contain health threats before they develop into global crises.
