The World Health Organization’s new epidemic and pandemic intelligence hub officially opened in Berlin on Wednesday. But questions remain as to how it will address issues around transparency and data sharing to prevent future pandemics.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched the hub, which will be led by Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, director general at Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
Ihekweazu will join WHO’s leadership team as assistant director-general.
In his remarks, Tedros said the hub will leverage innovations in data science, and make use of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other cutting-edge technologies. It is also envisioned to foster “greater sharing of data and information between communities and countries.”
But he emphasized the importance of collaboration, noting that “no single institution or nation can do this alone.”
“That's why we have coined the term ‘collaborative intelligence’ to sum up our collective mission,” he said.
But collaboration requires trust, and a key question is how the hub will be able to build that trust between WHO member states and partners to be open and transparent in sharing information. During the event and in the succeeding press conference, German health minister Jens Spahn called on China to “finally become fully cooperative,” and be transparent with the international community in examining the origins of COVID-19.
WHO has also been calling on China to share raw data, and has insisted that more information is needed before excluding the theory that the coronavirus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.
Tedros to China: Be ‘transparent,’ share raw data on COVID-19 origins
The WHO chief said that understanding what caused the outbreak will help prevent something similar from occurring in the future, adding that the world owes this to the millions who suffered and died from COVID-19.
“To build trust from WHO’s side, what we're saying is we will focus on science, we will focus on solidarity, and we will focus on solutions. And we hope [that] member states and other partners will understand this, and then move toward cooperation, openness, and transparency,” Tedros said during the press briefing.
“With openness, transparency, we can save lives, but without transparency … we can lose lives,” he added. But he also said if efforts to encourage collaboration fail, “then there could be some kind of sanction.”
“Maybe that's one thing that people are now discussing as part of the pandemic treaty, for instance, you know, to have all the incentives, all the ‘carrots.’ But maybe exploring the sanctions may be important, and I hope our member states will take this seriously and discuss,” he said.
But he emphasized sticking to science and solutions, and said that the reason the discussions around the study of the origins of COVID-19 is politicized is because access to data and information “is a problem.”
“In order to make it a scientific debate, we have to share data, and that's what we are asking by the way to China — please share data and also we need to keep the lab option open, and … based on science, let's have a look. But the cooperation is lacking, and instead of scientific debate, then you see political debate,” he said.
“To build trust from WHO’s side, what we're saying is we will focus on science, we will focus on solidarity, and we will focus on solutions.”
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general, World Health OrganizationGermany’s Spahn said that it’s part of countries’ commitment when joining WHO to share data, and said the hub’s work should remain science-based.
“This hub should not at all become ... political,” he said.
But Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director at WHO’s health emergencies program, said that while there are sometimes issues around transparency in reporting for global health security, “they’re not the only holes in the system.”
“The holes in our system are lack of infrastructure, lack of front-line data collection, lack of laboratory capacity in the front line,” he said, underscoring the importance of building local capacity.
“I do think we need global collaboration and global solutions and global tools and global governance and all these other things, but we also must begin locally as well, because the best defense against pathogens is an unbreakable chain of defense that's built around connecting local capacities, communities of practice. And this hub will seek to do both,” he said.
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About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
