Areas of Focus
Prevention
The Prevention pillar focuses on nature-based solutions and behavior change to prevent pandemics, including:
- understanding, protecting and restoring ecosystem health and functions to prevent disease emergence and transmission
- achieving sustainable food systems and livelihoods, including antimicrobial stewardship (reducing development of antimicrobial resistance, AMR)
- changing behavior and culture: food systems (including production, harvest and markets); and related policies
- changing behavior and culture: landscapes and natural resources (including clearing for agriculture & housing; unsustainable harvest of non-timber forest products & wildlife—terrestrial and aquatic)
Prediction
The Prediction pillar focuses on surveillance, diagnostics and modeling, including:
- disease diagnostics (wildlife, domestic animals, people, arthropod vectors of disease; inclusive of point-of-care and environmental testing) informatics and information-sharing systems
- assessments of risk (whole genome sequencing of pathogens, look for AMR and traits leading to it; remote sensing [e.g. satellite imagery of land-use disturbances], mining proxy data [e.g. social media, calls to physicians, Google searches])
- epidemiological, climate, and spatial spread modeling (e.g. transmission of a pathogen through a population or spread of geographic range of an arthropod vector of disease; predictive models on human migration/refugee and humanitarian crises)
Protection
The Protection pillar focuses on the built environment, personal protective equipment, vaccines, behavior change, including:
- anti-viral and vaccine research and development
- anti-viral and vaccine clinical trials
- anti-viral and vaccine epidemiology
- overcoming antimicrobial resistance, development of novel anti-microbials
- reducing risks of indoor exposures and viral load if exposed (ventilation, filtration, disinfection, personal protective equipment)
- behavioral interventions to promote adherence to community protective measures
Preparedness
The Preparedness pillar works with public health, medical, and veterinary workforces, policy makers, and citizenry on:
- assessments of capabilities and needs
- integration of data (from Predict pillar)
- emergency response training and simulations
- implementation of training programs
- education programs (government, departments of health, citizens)
Response
The Response pillar focuses on integration and coordination across government and communities to:
- use management sciences to advance equity during response and improve supply chains, staffing, coordination, and outreach during emergencies
- identify and support communities at highest risk due to structural racism, economic inequality, and other factors
- communicate and advocate effectively to promote healthy behaviors, combat infodemics, and promote support for health security investments