WHO’s Investigations and Studies (Unity Studies) provides the systems, tools and connections to carry out enhanced surveillance and targeted investigations and studies in any resource setting, helping to strengthen influenza and other respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness.
The World Health Organization's (WHO) Investigations and Studies Global Initiative, also known as the Unity Studies, provides a generic preparedness and readiness framework for conducting targeted investigations and studies that are critical to the assessment of emerging or re-emerging respiratory virus of pandemic or epidemic potential.
Through this initiative, standardized investigation protocols were developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to support Member States to generate robust and comparable data and inform public health decision-making. It also supported capacity building in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) across all regions for surveillance and operational research capabilities.
Now during this interpandemic period, countries are developing sustainable and resilient integrated surveillance strategies to monitor influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and other emerging respiratory viruses with epidemic or pandemic potential. As it is not feasible to address the full complex needs of respiratory virus surveillance with a single system, multiple fit-for-purpose surveillance approaches and complementary investigations must fit together as tiles in a “Mosaic”. Within this mosaic, studies and investigation protocols, such as the Unity Studies, can address certain public health objectives that are not efficiently met by other existing systems.
Building on the lessons learned from COVID-19, WHO and technical partners, including the University of Melbourne and SeroTracker, have been working to ensure that the Unity Studies are operational for a future pandemic.
Architecture, tools and a global network of sites
The first component to the Unity Studies is the standardized architecture and set of tools to allow for information to be compared globally. To date, this has included developing template investigation protocols, data analysis tools, and includes plans for establishing a common reporting platform for results-sharing, and facilitating a community of practice with diverse expertise in operational research for respiratory pathogens. Together, these can be adapted to each country’s context so that investigations can be tailored and country-owned.
The second step, which is underway, has been to develop a global operational network of sites. These sites will be primed and capacity-built to conduct country-specific standardized investigations and studies, including capacity building in aspects of study implementation, laboratory testing, data management, analytics and modelling analyses and reporting and participation in joint training activities. The network will include a minimum of three sites from low and middle-income countries per WHO region, alongside additional interested high-income countries. Under the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework Partnership Contribution’s (PC) third High-Level Implementation Plan, support is being provided to regions and countries to identify, build and monitor these network sites.
Sites will be required to exercise investigations and studies during “peace time”, such as seasonal influenza epidemics, to ensure operational readiness. By undertaking relevant investigations and studies, this will build an evidence-base for an optimal response during a future pandemic. They will be recognized as a center of expertise regionally and globally and have access to scientific and technical peer review support, a community of practice, and high quality standardized and harmonized tools and materials.
Next steps
Next steps for the approach including working with the WHO Regional Offices to nominate and confirm participating sites and then to begin piloting investigations in peace-time alongside running capacity building activities. Additional protocols are also being developed to support countries in other specialized investigations such as vaccine effectiveness and estimated early clinical severity.