29
Jan

Since the start of the 21st century, infectious disease outbreaks have increased. The vast majority, 75 percent, of infectious diseases in people originate from animals, at a time when an increasing number of people around the world are living in closer proximity to animals. These threats have manifested themselves over the past two decades in the form of increased frequency and severity of outbreaks, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the most serious in a century. These outbreaks are a sobering reminder of how diseases know no borders, and how every country remains vulnerable to zoonotic diseases reinforcing the importance of global health security efforts in our everyday lives. The COVID-19 pandemic is also a strong reminder of the connection between animals, humans and the environment, and the effect an emerging pathogen can have on global health and economies. Additionally, climate change, land use change, deforestation and other drivers change contact between animals and people in new and risky ways leading to more spillover events

While the global health community has been preparing for large-scale epidemics and pandemics, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the weaknesses and vulnerabilities for a global response. Initially some countries were able to leverage their previous preparedness efforts to implement successful public health responses, however all countries have been overwhelmed by surges, resources stretched thin, at some point during the pandemic. The global community understands that outbreaks begin and end in communities. Experience from previous infectious disease outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that sustained community engagement is critical for early detection and response as well as for establishing trust and social cohesion. We need to invest in communities; leverage academic institutions; support and resource frontline health workers including community health workers; and invest in community-based surveillance and data collection to inform early detection and enable swift action to respond.

This session will explore the resources, trust, data and information needed for communities to better detect and respond to infectious disease events by practitioners, educators, and community leaders. Specifically, the session will explore what we have learned from past infectious disease outbreaks and what we can improve in supporting community-level workers, the role the community can play in detection and surveillance to support early response, and the role of academic institutions in supporting communities.