Distinguished partners, colleagues and friends,
A warm welcome to everyone here, and to those of you who are joining us virtually.
This consultation marks a significant milestone: for the first time, we are bringing together colleagues from Communicable Diseases and Health Information Systems — two connected domains that too often work apart. This joint effort, under the umbrella of the Multi-Disease Elimination initiative, reflects what we need more of: integration and collaboration instead of compartmentalization and silos.
Over the next three days, we will take stock of where we stand – drawing on the comprehensive baseline assessments conducted across nine Member States. These assessments have shown both the progress we have made, as well as the gaps that remain. The challenges—fragmented systems, limited interoperability, and resource gaps—hinder our ability to detect, respond to, and eliminate communicable diseases.
We have also seen great promise.
The COVID-19 pandemic, while trying and testing, also accelerated innovation. It reminded us that integrated, high-quality, digitally-enabled surveillance systems are the foundation of sustainable disease control and elimination. Now is the moment to build on that momentum.
This consultation’s hybrid format is deliberate— to enable broad participation from across our region and beyond—and to be participatory. Our focus is on maximizing discussions, co-creation, and peer learning through World Café sessions, breakout groups, and plenary discussions. We aim to identify strategic priorities together, and to shape a harmonized framework that is both technically robust and regionally relevant.
Our objectives are clear:
To review the findings of the baseline assessments and identify key gaps and opportunities for integration and digital transformation.
To bring together Communicable Disease and Health Information Systems experts for cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing.
To refine the draft Regional Strategic Framework so that it reflects our Member States’ realities and ambitions.
And, to chart a course for operationalizing integrated, high-quality surveillance systems across the region.
I urge you to find practical and sustainable ways to invest in digital interoperable health information systems capable of supporting future-ready, high-quality, integrated surveillance systems.
The challenges ahead of us are complex, but we can—and must— overcome them by collaborating across departments, disciplines, and borders.
My thanks to all of you for your continued commitment, and your willingness to work together in new ways.
I wish you all a fruitful and productive consultation and look forward to being apprised of the outcomes.
Thank you.