The Mérieux Foundation USA and its partners, Weill Cornell Medical University, the GHESKIO Centers, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the Pandemic Fund are kicking off the high-level week with a special session to advance discussions on key challenges, priorities, and strategies to strengthen laboratory systems for emergency preparedness in a One Health approach. They will convene regional health entities from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas with funders and organizations working in the field to identify actionable solutions for sustained investment in clinical laboratory capacity as a cornerstone of global health security.
Panel discussions will confront global and regional perspectives on fundamental questions:
- What are the essential laboratory investments that strengthen both routine care and emergency preparedness? What resources are available for support?
- How can vertical systems be leveraged during a pandemic?
- How can countries move toward system-based strengthening that maximizes resources?
- How can countries use laboratory data to improve surveillance, rapid response, and early warning systems?
- How do countries operationalize clinical and veterinary lab systems for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response?
Context
In the context of climate change, urbanization, and global mobility, public health threats are growing in scale and complexity. This is compounded by economic crisis, misinformation, funding constraints and workforce shortages in laboratory medicine and public health, all weakening the ability of countries to respond effectively. Emergency funding often arrives once the outbreak is underway and there is no time for capacity building.
The current Ebola outbreak in central Africa has highlighted the consequences of weak testing, rapid response and surveillance systems. Delayed detection and under-resourced diagnostic capacity allowed transmission chains to become established before the outbreak was fully recognized.
Recent experiences with Ebola, COVID-19, H5N1 influenza and other emerging and reemerging infectious diseases have demonstrated, advanced national laboratories are essential, but successful response depends on whether community healthcare settings can rapidly recognize an unusual infectious disease, perform appropriate testing, safely handle specimens, communicate effectively with public health authorities, and escalate cases to specialized facilities without delay.
Laboratory capacity is an inherent element of Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response. Yet preparedness is not a stand-alone capability; it must be embedded in the day-to-day operation of clinical laboratories. The systems, infrastructure and expertise developed for routine HIV and TB detection, immunization, prevention and treatment programs can provide the foundation for responding to Antimicrobial Resistance and other emerging and re-emerging health threats.
Maintaining the expertise, equipment, and networks required for emergency response is more cost-effective and efficient than attempting to build them during a crisis. Investments in routine laboratory capacity also deliver benefits that extend beyond outbreak preparedness. A health system capable of controlling naturally occurring infectious disease outbreaks is better positioned to prevent, detect, and respond to the deliberate use of biological agents.
The bottom line: robust laboratory capacity is an essential part of frontline readiness.
