WHO Science Council meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, 11–12 July 2022: report

Overview

Advances in science and technology hold great promise for new and improved ways to address global health and to support healthier populations worldwide. WHO’s Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, established the WHO Science Council, a group of distinguished scientists from around the world, to work with WHO's Chief Scientist, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, on priority issues and to advise WHO on scientific breakthroughs and new technologies that can help WHO achieve its goals.

The Council’s inaugural meeting was held virtually in April 2021, and at this meeting the Council identified genomics as the topic for their first report to the WHO Director-General due to the significant implications of genomics for global health. The Council’s first in-person meeting was held on 11 and 12 July 2022 with the goals of reflecting on their progress over the past year, defining their next steps, and launching the genomics report. In attendance (virtual or in-person) were eight members of the Council, members of WHO leadership including the Chief Scientist, the WHO Secretariat for the Science Council, and other invited participants.