WHO, Germany launch new global hub for pandemic, epidemic intelligence

GENEVA - The World Health Organization (WHO) and Germany jointly announced on Wednesday to establish a new global hub based in Berlin for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, data, surveillance and analytics innovation.

"The new WHO Hub will be a global platform for pandemic prevention, bringing together various governmental, academic and private sector institutions," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint online press briefing.

As part of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, the hub will be a new 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, community acceptance and infodemics, according to WHO.

The hub will support the work of public health experts and policy-makers in all countries with insights, so they can make rapid decisions to prevent and respond to future public health emergencies.

It's also expected to drive a scale-up in innovation for existing forecasting and early warning capacities in WHO and member states.

"One of the lessons of COVID-19 is that the world needs a significant leap forward in data analysis to help leaders make informed public health decisions," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"This requires harnessing the potential of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, combining diverse data sources, and collaborating across multiple disciplines. Better data and better analytics will lead to better decisions," he said.