The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with key organizations, launches a $2 million grant initiative to enhance global pathogen genomic surveillance. The initiative supports 10 innovative projects aimed at improving the detection and monitoring of infectious diseases, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
WHO announces that the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) establishes a catalytic grant fund to boost genomic analysis capabilities. This technology decodes the genetic structure of pathogens like viruses and bacteria, offering critical insights into how they spread and the severity of the diseases they cause.
By integrating genomic data with other health information, scientists and public health experts can better track disease threats, develop vaccines and treatments, and enable faster, data-driven decisions to protect public health.
The grant fund is hosted by the United Nations Foundation and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Wellcome.
Sara Hersey, Director of Collaborative Intelligence at the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, highlights the initiative’s potential to expand equitable access to genomic surveillance tools worldwide. “The IPSN catalytic grant fund is already advancing pathogen genomic surveillance through its first round of projects,” she states.
Manisha Bhinge, Vice President of the Health Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation, emphasizes the importance of leveraging genomic surveillance in low- and middle-income countries. She adds that grantees are also exploring new applications, such as wastewater surveillance, to monitor the spread of diseases.
“Pandemics and epidemics remain a global challenge, worsened by climate change. Equitable access to these tools is vital to protecting vulnerable communities,” Bhinge says.
WHO reveals that one of the grantees, the American University of Beirut, focuses on using wastewater surveillance to track disease spread in refugee populations, ensuring timely interventions in these settings.
Another recipient, the Pasteur Institute of Laos, is developing methods to monitor avian flu in live-bird markets, a vital area for understanding disease transmission.
Titus Divala, Interim Head of Epidemics and Epidemiology at Wellcome, underscores the importance of these initiatives. “To protect vulnerable populations, we need to understand how pathogens spread, evolve, and cause disease. These projects, tailored to local needs, generate valuable insights to inform effective interventions,” he explains.
The grantees are announced at the IPSN Global Partners Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, held from November 21–22. A second round of grants will be available to IPSN members in 2025.
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