Introduction
In a global context marked by increasingly complex health threats, the World Health Organization (WHO) has just published a key technical document: « Research Prioritization for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence » (2024). This report identifies the 23 most urgent research priorities for strengthening global pandemic and epidemic intelligence. It is intended for researchers, policymakers, funding agencies, and all public health stakeholders—from the public, private, and nongovernmental sectors.
At CEHPI, this document resonates deeply with our mission. Here is a summary of its key takeaways and the areas that are of direct relevance to us.
A three-pillar framework
The framework proposed by the WHO is based on trois piliers complémentaires :
- Better Data (Better data): improve the detection, verification, and reporting of health threats;
- Better Analytics (Improved analyses): strengthen integration, modeling, and forecasting tools;
- Better Decisions (Best Decisions): Promoting governance, equity, and the translation of data into public policy.
These three pillars form a surveillance value chain, from data generation to its actual use in decision-making.
Priority themes at a glance
Le document identifie huit thèmes transversaux, chacun portant des questions de recherche concrètes et classées par ordre de priorité :
- Technological Advances and AI : Develop accessible and cost-effective multi-pathogen diagnostic tools; explore the use of AI for outbreak detection and complex decision-making support.
- Multisectoral approaches : Improve detection and reporting through multidisciplinary data integration, including One Health dimensions (human, animal, and environmental health).
- Quality Standards : Develop methods for rapidly evaluating the effectiveness of surveillance and public health interventions.
- Community-centered approaches : Incorporate community perspectives, socioeconomic equity indicators, and citizen-generated data into monitoring systems.
- Data preparation : Explore federated systems, open data, and data value chains to enhance epidemic intelligence.
- Analytical frameworks : Develop real-time forecasting methods and models to understand the emergence of pathogens.
- Governance : Examine the ethical, legal, and institutional frameworks that enable the secure and equitable sharing of surveillance data.
- Translating data into policy (Evidence to Policy) : Identify the factors that facilitate and hinder the use of evidence in the design of health interventions.
What particularly interests CEHPI: translating data into policy (Evidence to Policy)
Among the report’s eight themes, two research priorities are fully aligned with CEHPI’s core mission:
Priority No. 6 — Risk communication to decision-makers
To investigate communication strategies for effectively conveying information about health risks and uncertainties to policymakers in the context of pandemic and epidemic preparedness and response.
The WHO acknowledges here a reality that CEHPI observes daily in the field: policymakers often receive complex data that they cannot always interpret and use to its full potential. Differences in data culture, language barriers, political contexts, and varying levels of health literacy further complicate this task. It is imperative to develop appropriate visualization tools, interactive dashboards, and accessible infographics to bridge this gap.
Priority No. 16 — Identifying enablers and barriers to evidence-based decision-making
Identify the factors that facilitate and hinder evidence-based decision-making by using pandemic and epidemic intelligence to design public health interventions.
This priority addresses institutional processes, human capacity, and the tools available to translate surveillance findings into concrete actions. It calls for a better understanding of decision-making mechanisms at all levels—local, national, and international.
These two areas perfectly summarize what CEHPI does : to facilitate the transition from raw data to public health action by leveraging best practices in evidence translation.
Governance and Equity: Essential Dimensions
The report also strongly emphasizes the importance of data governance and health equity — two issues that are particularly pressing in resource-constrained settings. Priorities 10, 12, and 17 emphasize the need to understand how legal, ethical, and institutional mechanisms facilitate or hinder data sharing and its use in public policy.
For CEHPI, which operates in environments where these challenges are a daily reality, these recommendations serve as a useful roadmap to guide its research and technical support efforts.
Conclusion: CEHPI, a committed partner dedicated to addressing gaps
The WHO report makes a clear point: Significant gaps remain in research on pandemic and epidemic intelligence, particularly in translating knowledge into concrete decisions and in taking local and community realities into account.
CEHPI is fully aware of these challenges and is committed to addressing them. Drawing on our expertise in evidence translation, capacity building, and public health decision support, we are ready to collaborate with academic, institutional, governmental, and international partners to actively help address these gaps.
We firmly believe that high-quality research only truly fulfills its purpose when it translates into concrete actions that benefit people. It is this conviction that guides every one of our projects.
If you are interested in exploring opportunities for collaboration with CEHPI in one of the priority areas identified by the WHO, please feel free to contact us.
Référence : World Health Organization (2024). Research prioritization for pandemic and epidemic intelligence: technical brief. Genève : OMS. ISBN 978-92-4-009452-9.
