On 24 May 2022, at the margins of the 75th World Health Assembly, Cochrane and the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges brought together a global panel to discuss key lessons learned on using evidence in decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was opened by the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan.
During the roundtable, leaders from WHO Member States who use evidence to guide national decision-making, reflected on their work and discussed their requirements vis-a-vis evidence producers, evidence intermediaries, and multilateral organizations.
The session provided a platform for dialogue between both the demand and supply side of evidence, highlighting key priorities for an evidence-informed future and deliberating the recent recommendations published by Cochrane, the WHO Evidence-informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) and the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges (for details, see the related links further below).
Speakers:
- Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, WHO
- Fitsum Assefa Adela, Ministry of Planning and Development, Ethiopia
- Steven J. Hoffman, member of Canada's WHA delegation; Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Population & Public Health
- Dr Maria Endang Sumiwi, Director General of Public Health at the Ministry of Health, Indonesia
- John Lavis, Co-Lead, Evidence Commission
- Dr John Grove, Director of Quality Assurance for Norms and Standards, Science Division, WHO
Co-chairs:
- Judith Brodie, Interim CEO, Cochrane
- Sylvia de Haan, Head of Advocacy, Communications and Partnerships, Cochrane
Recording of the event
The recording is available here.