Two UNMC researchers were part of a team that helped create a comprehensive plan designed to improve global health security and increase preparedness in the wake of public health emergencies.
Jocelyn Herstein, PhD, assistant professor in the UNMC College of Public Health, and Lauren Sauer, associate professor in the college and associate director for research for the Global Center for Health Security, collaborated on the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, or GOARN, 2022-2026 Strategy.
GOARN started as a WHO mechanism to deploy international experts during outbreaks but has since evolved, Dr. Herstein said. Now, it’s not just about putting boots on the ground but also facilitating research for better outbreak response, capacity-building, increasing preparedness and centering the response around the local community, she said.
Work on the GOARN Strategy began in September 2021; it was published earlier this year. This was the first time that a formal four-year strategy had been crafted in this way, Sauer said.
Dr. Herstein and Sauer were part of a strategy research team, interviewing individuals within and outside of GOARN, surveying GOARN focal points, supporting scenario-based workshops, leading short-term working groups and facilitating regional consultations with partners.
“The global health ecosystem throughout the pandemic and into the future is really changing,” Sauer said. “The world is changing, and that means pathogens change how they move in the world. We wanted to create the roadmap for how all these partners can come together and implement outbreak response in a coordinated way.”
The GOARN Strategy is a result of collaboration and engagement across the entire network, which is comprised of more than 270 technical institutions. Ali S. Khan, MD, MPH, dean of the UNMC College of Public Health, is a member of the organization’s steering committee.
As the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent outbreaks showed, Dr. Herstein said, GOARN has an essential place in the world of outbreak response and preparedness.
“The GOARN Strategy, and an accompanying implementation plan that is currently being developed, will guide strengthened coordination of and preparedness for outbreaks,” she said. “The strategy also highlights the opportunity to better engage the vast expertise GOARN has across its network partners.”
Well done!