Open call to national authorities, international organizations, academia, media, fact-checkers and civil-society organizations – to join the Europe Infodemic Preparedness and Response Alliance
Background
From the start of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, public health leaders in Europe and internationally identified the infodemic of false narratives, half-truths and information overload it gave rise to as a major challenge. Analyses by WHO and others show this infodemic significantly hampered the health sector’s response to COVID-19, thereby costing lives.
WHO and other international bodies, national governments, civil society and private sector entities – including researchers, fact-checkers and community actors – learned that managing infodemics requires building partnerships and collaborations across the whole of government and the whole of society.
EIPRA’s objectives
The WHO Regional Office for Europe initiated the Europe Infodemic Preparedness and Response Alliance (EIPRA) in the context of health emergencies preparedness and response.
EIPRA aims to establish healthier information environments that are conducive to trust building between emergency response authorities and affected/at-risk communities. To do so, the Alliance is expected to strengthen the efforts of each member for infodemic preparedness and response through a collaborative approach by
- coordinating monitoring and listening activities to detect harmful signals and information voids;
- supporting the engagement and empowerment of affected and vulnerable communities;
- promoting the dissemination of reliable health information; and
- building resilience to false information.
The lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic will be leveraged to get prepared and respond to infodemic in all types of emergencies.
EIPRA’s membership and participation
Alliance members and participants join EIPRA based on four functional levels:
- Tier 1. Monitoring and triage: organizations active in social listening and risk assessment of potentially harmful signals.
- Tier 2. Response and amplification: organizations that engage in fact-checking, debunking and promoting accurate and evidence-based health information.
- Tier 3. Knowledge and expertise: entities active in the academia and research sector.
- Tier 4. Policy and coordination: international organizations, UN agencies, and Member States.
Questions and answers on EIPRA
Q - What is an infodemic?
A - An infodemic is too much information including false or misleading information in digital and physical environments during a health emergency. It causes confusion and risk-taking behaviours that can harm health. It also leads to mistrust in health authorities and undermines the public health response to the emergency. An infodemic can intensify or lengthen an epidemic or pandemic when people are unsure about what they need to do to protect their health and the health of people around them. Health experts believe the infodemic that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and subsequent years cost many thousands of lives and undermined trust in health authorities in numerous communities. We can expect that future health emergencies will also be accompanied by infodemics – and that these may be worse than what we experienced with COVID-19.
Q - What is the Europe Infodemic Preparedness and Response Alliance (EIPRA)?
A - EIPRA is a new whole-of-society collaboration led by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. It aims to:
- further develop and maintain public trust in science-based information from health authorities both in current and future health emergencies, and
- further strengthen collaboration between organizations in WHO European Region that need to manage infodemics and their impacts.
In particular, it aims to implement lessons learned and good practice developed on infodemic management during COVID-19 emergency and help ensure they are applied across the Region in future health emergencies.
Q - Who can join EIPRA?
A - Organizations from across government, academia, civil society and the private sector can apply to join EIPRA. We learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that countering infodemics requires a wide range of actions, and that no organization can do these all on its own. EIPRA therefore provides a framework for infodemic management coordination and collaboration for actors across the whole of society. That said, given WHO is part of the United Nations system, governmental organizations will play a special role in guiding EIPRA:
- National or area-level government bodies, such as public health authorities or agencies responsible for digital media policy can become members of EIPRA. So too can intergovernmental organizations such as UN or EU bodies operating in the WHO European Region.
- Civil society organizations, academic research groups and private sector entities that focus on infodemic management or related areas can apply to be participants in EIPRA. Areas related to infodemic management include, for example, fact-checking and promotion of health literacy / digital literacy.
Non-state actors with links to the tobacco or arms industries cannot join EIPRA.
Q - What will EIPRA do to make countries and organizations better prepared for future infodemics?
A - In 2024 and the first half of 2025 the main priorities of EIPRA will be to:
- Further develop infodemic management capacities in European Region
- Identify, catalyze and disseminate research on infodemic management and how to develop impactful interventions against infodemics.
To achieve the first of these priorities, EIPRA will organize regular workshops and training sessions on infodemic management. In the area of research, EIPRA will foster collaboration and networking between government authorities and researchers to share the latest knowledge and quantify the impact of infodemic management interventions.
From mid-2025 onwards, EIPRA may expand its operations in line with the needs and ambitions of its members and participants. Potential areas of focus may include joint development of innovative tools and intervention, as well as coordinated actions to build community resilience against infodemics and to counter harmful false narratives.
Q - Do members and participants need to pay a subscription fee?
A - There is no fee to join EIPRA either as a member or a participant. However, all organizations that join EIPRA will be expected to contribute time, energy and ideas to its activities.
Q - How can my organization apply to join?
A - Governmental bodies wishing to join EIPRA need to send a letter to WHO/Europe stating their wish to join the Alliance and their agreement to abide by its Terms of Reference.
Civil society organizations, academic research groups and private sector entities need to express their interest in joining EIPRA – as well as to state their agreement to abide by its Terms of Reference.
The text of this article was changed on 20 September 2024 to reflect the new terms of reference, with private sector entities being now entitled to apply for participation.
Application links: