Building a pandemic-resilient future

Health | Global health security

Global health security Recent disease outbreaks such as SARS, Ebola and Covid-19 have shown that communicable disease control needs to be built into all aspects of our lives, not just our health systems.

We take a One Health approach, use digital innovation, and engage with non-health sectors such as water, transport and infrastructure. We help clients, countries and governments understand, prepare for, tackle and prevent disease outbreaks, and make a pandemic-resilient future a reality.

A pandemicresilient future

A One Health approach Most pandemic threats have their origins in animals or the environment. An effective response requires collaboration between many sectors, and includes a collective approach to sharing and analysing information.

Collaborating across sectors In the past, health security interventions happened in siloes. In our interconnected world, partnerships across sectors and borders offer increasing opportunities to combine expertise and experiences.

We’re collaborating across our business to help clients in the water and infrastructure sectors understand and respond to the threat of antimicrobial resistance.

We’ve advised our wastewater team on solutions for the aquaculture industry that will be less likely to release antibiotic by-products into the environment, and helped our buildings team incorporate infection prevention and control into their designs.

Our UK aid-funded Fleming Fund programme, through which we’re tackling antimicrobial resistance in 24 countries, comprises a team of veterinarians, laboratory scientists, microbiologists, physicians, and epidemiologists to ensure a One Health approach is intrinsic to all that we do. This means that if new strains of drug-resistant bacteria are discovered in animals, the risk to humans can be more quickly assessed and measures to control it can be taken.

Protecting health workers At the core of the response, we need to keep health workers safe. They need the right personal protective equipment (PPE) and to work in environments that support infection control.

Our Fleming Fund laboratory scientists oversee the installation of biosafety and biosecurity systems in 24 countries, to ensure that pathogens are not accidentally or intentionally released. We are also working with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and hospitals in Georgia and Turkey to introduce practices to prevent infections spreading between patients and staff.

We also offer expertise in infrastructure epidemiology to help our clients understand how to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission, such as the virus that causes Covid-19, in transport or infrastructure settings. It is through networks like these that we can truly address global health security in full.

Giving countries ownership Often countries and governments know what they need to do to improve their health systems but making and demonstrating improvements can be more challenging.

In Pakistan, we ran the Technical Resource Facility (TRF+), funded by UK aid, where we worked with provincial governments to agree priorities and set targets for reproductive, maternal and child health.

With our partner Acasus, we used performance- and evidence-based monitoring – with colour-coded visualisations and regular meetings with senior leaders – to drive innovation and new ways of working to meet the targets. In Punjab, routine immunisation coverage increased from 62% to 81% between 2014 and 2016.

Effective health systems Pandemic preparedness requires planning and coordination. As a result, outbreaks are more likely to occur, and have the most devastating impact, in fragile states or where systems are weak or fragmented.

As fund managers for SHINE Supply, part of the UK aid-funded Somalia Health and Nutrition Programme, we have set up systems that allow us to contract private sector and NGO partners, enabling them to deliver essential services in one of the most fragile environments in the world.

Thinking digitally It is easier than ever to get accurate data quickly about how diseases spread. Mobile phones can be used to collect health information and convey public health messages to huge numbers of people. Big data can help to detect new or unusual patterns that may act as an early warning system for outbreaks.

KalaCORE was a UK aid-funded cross-border initiative tackling visceral leishmaniasis in six countries in South Asia and East Africa. We developed a digital platform which healthcare workers on the ground could use to quickly detect and treat new cases.

For digital technologies to be effective and make a long-lasting impact, they require careful coordination and management. Our experience of introducing digital solutions to the health sector includes the integration and utilisation of health informatics in South Africa, and advising the UK’s NHS on virtual consultations.

Digital solutions can also support advancements in laboratory technology and vaccine development.

Integrated surveillance Disease surveillance is at the heart of global health security. The most effective surveillance is integrated into wider health systems, enabling trends in disease frequency to be identified and addressed. Accurate data about people’s health helps governments make the right decisions about where to invest – and provides evidence of what works.

As part of our evaluation of a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation programme in Malawi, our Learning Laboratory is generating insights on how to strengthen HIV data systems to support intelligence-based decision making. By understanding what drives decision makers and using data visualisations, we were able to increase their demand for data to better inform their decisions.

We’re using this knowledge on the UK aid-funded Ascend programme to help 13 countries in West and Central Africa strengthen systems to better detect and respond to neglected tropical diseases.

Opening opportunities with connected thinking. mottmac.com