The WHO Pandemic Hub is a catalytic initiative established by WHO with support from the German government to strengthen pandemic and epidemic intelligence by developing systems for better data, better analytics, and better decisions.

It is designed to strengthen capacity and collaboration among countries, regional and global actors to avert and manage public health threats through collaborative problem solving and decision-making.

It is built upon the premise that no single discipline or institution will be able to make the world better prepared for the next pandemic. Therefore, the Hub works with experts from various countries and disciplines.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed weaknesses in how countries detect, monitor, and manage public health threats and gaps in collaboration to support disease surveillance globally. The WHO Pandemic Hub was launched by WHO with support from the German Government on 1 September 2021 with aims to transform the global surveillance of emerging public health threats and to build a collaborative intelligence ecosystem in preparedness for future health emergencies. 

The WHO Pandemic Hub aims to accelerate capabilities for improved detection of and response to public health threats, improving collaboration in critical areas such as data sharing and joint data analysis, between different actors around the globe.

The main goal of the WHO Pandemic Hub is to connect Member States, WHO Regional and Country Offices, regional and national health agencies, academia, private sector and other non-state actors across geographies and disciplines to collaborate and co-create tools to gather and analyse data to better prepare for, detect and respond to health emergencies.

To achieve this mission, the WHO Pandemic Hub is developing an approach to collaborative intelligence clustered centered around three interconnected activities:

• Connecting data, solutions, and communities of practice globally: Creating a multi-disciplinary collaborative intelligence environment and building a global system to connect data from a wide range of sources.
  
• Innovating solutions and processes: Facilitating the development and wide availability of robust analytic tools and driving a global agenda for responsible research and development in pandemic and epidemic intelligence.
  
• Strengthening capabilities for forecasting, detection, and assessment of health risks: Providing advisory, training, and capacity-building services; and supporting timely, effective decision making and policies.

Collaborative intelligence is a term that captures the essence of WHO’s new approach to improve the assessment and management of public health risks and establish an environment to increase trust and pool ideas and resources. By linking local, regional, and global initiatives, the WHO Pandemic Hub connects people, data and information from Member States, partner organisations, innovators, scientists and experts to prepare for, detect and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks.

See https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01900-5 for more detail.

Improved surveillance is not only about just collecting the data across sectors, disciplines, and regions but also explores how we can strengthen the linkage, interpretation and use of data. The WHO Pandemic Hub works to link a wide range of data sources to better understand the complex contexts from which public health risks emerge. Its collaborative approach to surveillance and intelligence seeks to expand beyond the data from traditional disease surveillance, including case data and laboratory data, and embed with the essential contextual information about environmental, social and economic factors.

The WHO Pandemic Hub forms part of a new Division of Health Emergency Intelligence and Surveillance Systems, which is located within the WHO Headquarters Health Emergencies Programme.

The WHO Pandemic Hub is led by Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, WHO Assistant Director-General for the Division of Health Emergency Intelligence and Surveillance Systems in the Health Emergencies Programme. The WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme is led by Executive Director Dr Michael J Ryan.

The WHO Pandemic Hub is based in Berlin, a dynamic city for digital innovation, with excellent research capabilities and vibrant civil society networks.

Since September 2021, the WHO Pandemic Hub has built a portfolio of projects to accelerate existing efforts and develop new activities:

Community-building

The Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources Initiative (EIOS) – A global initiative led by WHO, to strengthen public health intelligence. EIOS offers integrated services to Member States and organisations, including networking, collaboration, capacity building and innovative solutions. By 25 October 2022, 44 Member States and 18 organizations and networks had joined the EIOS initiative, becoming part of its ever-growing community of practice working towards stronger public health intelligence.

Linking data

Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KR²) – A project that establishes and grows a global network of information from different systems and datasets; developing systems and capabilities for the early discovery and assessment of public health threats using advanced analytic methods. 

Aligning global efforts

International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) – A WHO-led initiative to address the gaps and needs in local-to-global genomic surveillance for timely and appropriate public health actions for pathogens with pandemic potential. The IPSN involves a Technical Connector for networks and laboratories, a Partners’ Forum for advocacy and resourcing, as well as a Steering Committee.

Linking communities of practice

The Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Forum was created as an organically growing, multistakeholder and multidisciplinary platform of exchange around issues relevant to decision makers in public health/emergencies.

Experimentation and testing

Collaboratory – Global interactive digital laboratory for collaborative intelligence to provide community-driven solutions to address existing challenges and needs for data, analytics, and evidence-based decision-making

Guiding innovation

Research and development agenda – Establishing global research priorities and translation mechanisms for pandemic and epidemic intelligence.

Skills building

PHI Competencies – Capacity building through the development of a skilled workforce for better decision-making: public health intelligence training modules form tailored curricula mapped to defined competencies for different audiences and sectors. 

Open Source Programme Office (OSPO) 

An initiative within the WHO Pandemic Hub to support WHO as well as stakeholders from Member States, partners and academia to collaboratively develop sustainable, innovative, and impactful open source solutions for pandemic and epidemic intelligence. Join the conversation here

Email us at: pandemichub@who.int. Use the hashtag on Twitter #WHOPandemicHub to tag us on your posts.