Reinforcing preparedness in a post-pandemic world
During the Covid-19 emergency, healthcare and public health systems worldwide faced unprecedented challenges. Healthcare personnel worked under extreme pressure; supplies of personal protective equipment, drugs, laboratory tests and medical equipment were limited; and healthcare facilities were inundated with patients. This strain on the healthcare system was paralleled by enormous pressure on public health systems. There was a need to collect data rapidly to inform policies for conducting large-scale contact tracing operations, and to interact with multiple sectors.
As evidence continued to evolve, the many uncertainties surrounding Covid-19 needed to be communicated
to policymakers and communities.
What have we learned?
During and after the Covid-19 emergency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control systematically reflected on the lessons learned and identified several strategic areas requiring organisational and political commitment and investment.
Resilient public health systems need a strong public health workforce. Contrary to the current trend of reducing public health budgets, it is essential to hire and train public health experts – especially younger experts, because the current public health workforce is ageing. It is also crucial to have surge capacity plans in place to expand the workforce rapidly during emergencies.
We must build a public health infrastructure that is resilient, adaptive and ready to face the challenges of tomorrow. Enhanced global preparedness for potential upcoming health crises, together with international partners, is key to increasing resilience. Together with other European Union bodies, ECDC has started systematically assessing the public health emergency preparedness of all members in the European Union and the European Economic Area. In addition, ECDC has established the EU Health Task Force to support countries in Europe and around the globe by providing operational outbreak response and crisis preparedness for communicable diseases.
Robust and flexible surveillance systems that make it easier to gather and analyse data are necessary to inform policy decisions in times of crisis and to adapt measures quickly to contain disease outbreaks. ECDC is committed to improving the surveillance of communicable diseases at the EU level, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by the digitalisation of health data. Surveillance of communicable diseases has changed significantly. Paper-based notifications have been almost completely replaced by electronic data flows in most European countries, supported by new healthcare provider information systems for storing and transmitting patients’ clinical data. Digitisation of health records and surveillance processes, as well as the use of new tools such as artificial intelligence, will take the surveillance of infectious diseases to a whole new level, for the benefit of all.
Zoonotic spillover events and a broad range of environmental infectious disease drivers pose risks to human health that need to be approached from a One Health perspective. The new ECDC One Health Framework emphasises the interconnectedness of the public health, veterinary and environmental sectors, increasing collaboration across mandates and borders.
Trusted partners
Communicating risks and engaging with communities are crucial for a successful public health emergency response, and the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for public health professionals to improve their skills in this area. Although public health organisations issued many recommendations based on sound epidemiological and virological data, their uptake was often suboptimal. Community engagement and trust are essential to securing and optimising adherence to public health recommendations.
The Covid-19 pandemic was accompanied by unprecedented amounts of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories. This ‘infodemic’ caused confusion and mistrust among individuals, which has lasted well beyond the pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic greatly amplified existing mis- and disinformation concerning infectious disease outbreaks. In response, ECDC is expanding the use of social and behavioural sciences to prevent and control infectious diseases as part of its new Framework for Prevention. It aims to improve understanding, influence behaviour, and refine policies, programmes and communication to strengthen adherence to public health measures.
Communicable diseases spread across borders and continents, and the pandemic has highlighted how close collaboration and trust among global partners working in public health are critical to strengthen resilience. This trust needs to be established before a crisis. ECDC has already set up a network of major centres for disease control worldwide and is supporting the EU’s global health strategy through close technical collaboration with experts at the Africa Centres for Disease Prevention and Control.
As the world continues to navigate various public health crises, we must work closely together and improve our preparedness to create the foundation for a robust protection against future health threats.
