SHOTLIST:
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in the global systems for pandemic and epidemic intelligence. And it’s a fact of nature that there will more viruses that will emerge with the potential of sparking epidemics or pandemics. Viruses move fast, but data can move even faster. With the right information, countries and communities can stay one step of an emerging risk and save lives. Modern technologies give us unprecedented tools for collecting, analysing and disseminating data in real time around the world. That’s what the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence aims to do.
Date Time
WHO, Germany launch new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence
The WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence will be a global platform for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, creating shared and networked access to vital multi-sectoral data, driving innovations in data analytics and building the communities of practice needed to predict, prevent, detect, prepare for and respond to worldwide health threats.
The WHO Hub will be a new global collaboration of countries and partners worldwide, driving innovations to increase availability and linkage of diverse data; develop tools and predictive models for risk analysis; and to monitor disease control measures and infodemics.
Illustration of the back office of the Strategic Health Operations Centre (SHOC) at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on 11 December 2020.
In order to minimize the risk of introducing COVID-19 into the headquarters premises, WHO continues to ensure that personnel have access to a safe and healthy work environment, and that all appropriate measures are in place to minimize the risk to the workforce. Ensuring the safety of all WHO staff and their families requires a new way of working on WHO campus.
SWITZERLAND / GERMANY The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federal Republic of Germany will establish a new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, data, surveillance and analytics innovation. The Hub, based in Berlin and working with partners around the world, will lead innovations in data analytics across the largest network of global data to predict, prevent, detect prepare for and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks worldwide.
The Rockefeller Foundation
Updates 05.05.21
Statement from Dr. Rick Bright, Senior Vice-President, Pandemic Prevention and Response
NEW YORK | May 4, 2021 – The Rockefeller Foundation welcomes today’s announcement of a new World Health Organization (WHO) Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence and looks forward to continuing our close collaborations with the WHO and other organizations to prevent future pandemics.
The development of the new Hub by the WHO and the Federal Republic of Germany as a global platform for sharing disease outbreak information, data and analytics will be an essential part of the future global network to predict, detect, and prevent worldwide health threats.