The Rockefeller Foundation and World Health Organization Announce Partnership To Expand Global Pandemic Preparedness in Era of Climate Change

US$ 5M investment will accelerate priority projects of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence to drive global collaboration in genomic surveillance, adoption of data tools for pathogen detection, and assessment of climate-aggravated outbreak threats

GENEVA | May 23, 2023 – The Rockefeller Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO) have announced a new partnership to strengthen the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. As part of the collaboration, the Foundation is investing US$ 5M in partners working with WHO to cultivate global networks for pathogen detection and strengthen pandemic preparedness capabilities, including broadening surveillance for diseases worsened by rising temperatures and extreme weather.

Established in 2021, WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence facilitates a global collaboration of partners from multiple sectors to address future pandemic and epidemic risks with better access to data, better analytical capacities, and better tools and insights for decision-making. The partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation will accelerate these efforts with catalytic funding and technical assistance.

“The Covid-19 pandemic underscored that disease surveillance, collaboration between stakeholders, and data sharing were absolutely essential ingredients for health security – and the global community was unprepared,” said Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, WHO Assistant Director-General and head of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. “With the increasing threats from climate change, we are excited to partner with The Rockefeller Foundation to usher in a new era of global collaboration in pandemic intelligence.”