The first annual International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) Global Partners Forum (GPF) will take place on 13 October 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The event will be held alongside the World Health Summit to bring together country, regional and global partners involved in pathogen genomic surveillance. The event will provide a platform for public health practitioners, academics, policy makers, and financial institutions to build partnerships, introduce innovations, and socialize new ideas.
Background on the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence
The WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence was established in September 2021 with the support of the German government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted weaknesses in the detection, monitoring and management of public health threats across the globe.
Background on IPSN
The WHO Hub launched the IPSN in May 2023 as a global network to accelerate progress on the deployment of pathogen genomics and improve public health decision-making. By strengthening the pathogen genomic surveillance ecosystem, the IPSN enables faster detection of new pathogens and enhanced tracking of the spread and evolution of diseases to drive better public health responses. The IPSN supports ongoing disease surveillance and will help detect and fully characterize new disease threats before they become epidemics or pandemics.
The IPSN envisions a world where every country has equitable access to sustained capacity for genomic sequencing and analytics as part of its public health surveillance system. By creating a mutually supportive global network of pathogen genomic surveillance actors, the work of its members can be amplified and accelerated to improve access and equity.
Contact IPSN Secretariat: ipsn-secretariat@who.int