The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with its partners, has launched a new initiative to improve global capacities in pathogen genomic surveillance worldwide.
Announced recently, the initiative will allocate nearly US$ 2 million in grants to support 10 innovative projects aimed at improving the detection and monitoring of pathogens.
WHO announced on Tuesday in a statement that the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) has launched a catalytic grant fund to support partners in low- and middle-income countries in strengthening their pathogen genomic analysis capabilities.
“This technology analyses the genetic code of viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms to understand, providing crucial insights into how easily they spread, and how sick they can make people.”
WHO explains that by integrating this genomic data with other information, scientists and public health teams can more effectively track and respond to infectious disease threats.
Additionally, the data supports the development of vaccines and treatments and empowers countries to make faster decisions, more informed decisions to protect public health.
The fund is hosted by the United Nations Foundation and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Wellcome.
Expanding pathogen genomic surveillance
Sara Hersey, Director of Collaborative Intelligence at the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence said the IPSN catalytic grant fund has incredible potential to expand pathogen genomic surveillance for all, which we are already seeing through the first round of grantmaking.
“We are eager to support this work, which plays a key role in pandemic and epidemic prevention worldwide.”
Similarly, Manisha Bhinge, Vice President of the Health Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation also emphasized that the IPSN catalytic grant fund recipients will accelerate the benefits of pathogen genomic surveillance in low- and middle-income settings, as well as explore new applications for genomic surveillance, such as wastewater surveillance.
She pointed out that pandemics and epidemics continue to be a global threat, adding it’s further amplified by climate change.
“There is an urgent need for equitable access to these tools and capabilities to protect lives in vulnerable communities,” Bhinge said.
Key projects and impact on public health
According to WHO, one of the recipients, the American University of Beirut, will use wastewater surveillance to study how diseases spread in refugee populations, helping to ensure that people can quickly receive the care and support they need in migration settings.
- Another grantee, the Pasteur Institute of Laos, will use the funding to develop new methods to track avian flu in live-bird markets, a setting that is often overlooked but vital to millions of people worldwide.
“If we are to protect vulnerable populations from the devastating impacts of disease, we first need to better understand how these pathogens spread, evolve, and cause illness,” stressed Titus Divala, Interim Head of Epidemics and Epidemiology at Wellcome.
- He explained that the projects, tailored to local priorities, will generate new insights, knowledge, and evidence that will help track global pathogen trends and inform evidence-based decisions to implement effective interventions.
The grantees were announced at the IPSN Global Partners Forum held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 21–22 November. A second round of catalytic grant funds will be made available to IPSN members in 2025.
