Rapid review of WHO COVID‐19 surveillance: External review, 27 October 2021

Overview

The use of accurate, real‐time data to inform decision‐making is essential for infectious disease control. As countries responded to COVID‐19, decision‐makers needed ways to gather, manage, process, and share COVID‐19 data quickly and accurately. In an effort to have an impartial view of its COVID‐19 surveillance program, the World Health Organization (WHO) requested the support of Resolve to Save Lives, an Initiative of Vital Strategies, to conduct a rapid review of WHO surveillance activities, during a five‐week period in March‒April 2021. This review identifies technical and operational recommendations to WHO to strengthen ongoing surveillance and data systems, while anticipating the need for scalability for larger future events and the realities of real‐time surveillance in the digital era.