4.1.3 Strengthened evidence base, prioritization and uptake of WHO generated norms and standards and improved research capacity and the ability to effectively and sustainably scale up innovations, including digital technology, in countries.

Scorecard

Integrating Gender, equity and human rights into policy guidance, research and innovation is a priority for the Science division. In this regard, further enforcement and guidance are needed to address the varying levels of integration seen at the three levels of the Organization. The Division will support engagement with the three levels to incorporate key principles, and it will further advance these to inform decisions about resource allocation; the makeup of advisory bodies; the focus of research, norms and standards; and digital product design and delivery.

Achievements and challenges

In 2020, under the leadership of WHO’s Chief Scientist and in collaboration with the regional offices, the Science division played a vital role in strengthening WHO’s normative functions and its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. New mechanisms for emergency guideline review and approval were refined – such as the COVID-19 Publication Review Committee, which is linked to the Guidelines Review Committee – as have other existing mechanisms, such as those for rapid review, quality assurance and the issuance of recommendations. Regional offices were fully engaged, and they established and developed similar functions. These refinements to the guidelines process allowed WHO to publish numerous products supporting the COVID-19 response, all of which went through a rigorous quality assessment process. WHO also contributed to the coordination of the Solidarity Trial, the largest international, randomized trial evaluating treatments for COVID-19.

In the area of digital health, the World Health Assembly adopted the Global strategy on digital health 2020–2025. The Organization established the Digital Health Technical Advisory Group and a digital clearinghouse, a curated collection of standards-based WHO-vetted digital health solutions. The SMART (Standards-based, Machine-readable, Adaptive, Requirements-based and Testable) Guidelines were successfully pilot tested and provide a comprehensive set of reusable digital health components (e.g. interoperability standards, code libraries, algorithms, technical and operational specifications) that preserve fidelity and accelerate the uptake of guidelines. Processes, structures and services were put in place to provide cross-cutting, timely support to headquarters and regional offices on research for health, quality assurance for norms and standards, and leveraging digital technologies.

The Organization hosts vital platforms for sharing research, including the Global Observatory on Health R&D and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, which are the main sources of global information on COVID-19. These platforms contributed to WHO’s wider work in addressing the infodemic around COVID-19 and reinforced WHO’s leadership in providing and advocating for evidence- and data-based information. Regional offices provided technical support and capacity development in conducting health research, moving from evidence to policy, inspiring innovation, assessing national health research systems, ensuring research ethics, making evidence-informed decision and policies, scaling up processes that advance health, and stimulating digital innovations that address countries’ health needs. Regional offices also supported countries with the technical, logistical and financial resources to conduct studies related to COVID-19 and other priority areas, including by supporting and coordinating unity studies, treatment trials (including the Solidarity Trial) and vaccine effectiveness studies.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic required adjusting planned activities and repurposing staff assignments. In this context, activities were assessed for their risks and feasibility, while working with limited resources, and prioritized accordingly. The pandemic has revealed new ways of advancing coordination and harnessing the power of scientific evidence, as well as the potential of digital health and innovation to advance the uptake of WHO’s recommendations, health information and research. There was a marked increase in demand for country offices to advise and contribute to producing and adapting country-specific versions of global guidance, suggesting that this should be a priority for resource allocation. COVID-19 created opportunities for enhanced interdepartmental collaboration and more in-depth involvement by different WHO teams working together to respond to the emergency, which in turn enhanced WHO’s capacities for research, coordinating studies at national and global levels and streamlining the use of evidence in policymaking.