The future of public health intelligence depends on collaboration between the World Health Organization and a growing ecosystem of non-state actors, digital platforms and open-source initiatives
crowdsourced health surveillance via email, launched in 1994. By combining open-source reporting with expert editorial review, it played a crucial role in alerting the world to SARS in 2003 and later to Covid-19 in 2019. It built on earlier efforts such as the Global Public Health Intelligence Network, a Canadian platform from the late 1990s that also leveraged open data for outbreak detection. Launched in early 2020, Johns Hopkins University’s Covid-19 Dashboard quickly became a globally trusted source for tracking cases, deaths and vaccine roll-outs. Its intuitive interface and transparent methodology enabled policymakers, media and the public to navigate a fast-moving crisis with clarity. Similarly, Global.Health, developed through an academic collaboration during the 2022 mpox outbreak, introduced the first open-access case-tracking dashboard. The platform helped public health officials and researchers monitor the spread more
T racking infectious disease outbreaks is more complex than ever in today’s increasingly fragmented world shaped by geopolitical tensions, nationalist policies and uneven information sharing. The World Health Organization plays a central role in global public health intelligence: detecting outbreaks, issuing alerts and coordinating international responses. It operates under the International Health Regulations and relies on timely information sharing by member states. However, official channels are often slower than the pace of new outbreaks and emergencies. In a hyperconnected world, unofficial sources often report health threats earlier than national authorities or the WHO.
Oliver Morgan, head, WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, and Rithika Sangameshwaran, CPC Analytics A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY In recent crises, non-state actors, including digital platforms, open-source initiatives, non-governmental organisations and academic networks, often sounded the first alarms. These operate outside government structures and take on surveillance roles. They are not competitors to the WHO or national health authorities. Rather, they fill critical gaps, particularly in early detection, data innovation and open sharing. One example is ProMED-mail, a volunteer-run listserv that pioneered
The collaborative future of public health intelligence
86
Health: A Political Choice – The Future of Health in a Fractured World
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker