Scanning the horizon together: how the Western Pacific collectively strengthens public health intelligence and early warning systems

The World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region encompasses diverse populations, geographies and ecosystems, creating a complex landscape of public health risks. From SARS and MERS to avian influenza, Zika virus disease and dengue, to natural disasters and climate-related hazards, countries across the Region must be better prepared to detect and respond to a wide range of emerging and re-emerging threats.

In such a dynamic risk environment, timely detection and rapid information-sharing are critical to effective public health action. From 2023 to 2025, the gap between a health threat emerging and its regional notification in the Western Pacific Region reduced significantly. This did not occur by chance. It was a result of collective efforts across the Region to build early warning systems together - pooling data, tools, training and trust so that a signal picked up in one country becomes an early warning for all.

An example of this collective effort is clearly illustrated in the recent Public Health Intelligence–Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (PHI–EIOS) Workshop held in Chongqing, China, from 8 to 11 September 2026. Public health experts and surveillance officers from across the Western Pacific Region came together to build national capacities in multi-source surveillance and public health intelligence - ensuring early detection and timely response to future health emergencies and outbreaks.

Organized by the Center for Global Public Health at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), with support from the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, the workshop brought together representatives from Brunei Darussalam, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Viet Nam, alongside China CDC experts from national and provincial levels.

Pooling public health data for stronger public health intelligence

The workshop built directly on the momentum from Member States’ endorsement of the regional multi-source surveillance (MSS) policy in June 2026 at the annual Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APHSAF) Stakeholders Meeting. The gathering gave participants an opportunity to move from policy to practice by co-developing the MSS Implementation Toolkit that countries will use to put the policy into effect in their countries.

Photo: Participants at the Public Health Intelligence–Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (PHI–EIOS) Workshop held in Chongqing, China (8-11 September 2026). Credit: WHO/Satoshi Shimada

Participants worked through and refined all four modules of the toolkit - Foundations, Processing, Use, and Learning and Improvement - grounding each in country experience, so the tools and resources reflect operational realities. The workshop also gave participants the chance to discuss the growing role of AI and big data in surveillance, providing a platform where countries could learn from one another on this critical issue.

Participating countries echoed the value of the exchange. Dr Ikrami Azmi, a Medical Officer with the Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam noted: "The Toolkit is built upon a myriad of existing WHO tools and the experiences of Member States. It enables not just the implementation of multi-source surveillance systems, but also, the utilization of information to make public health decisions." Another participant, Dr Aznida Binti Mohamad Zaki, a Public Health Medicine Specialist with Malaysia's Ministry of Health shared: "An inspiring workshop that enhanced our understanding of PHI–EIOS and Multi-Source Surveillance through valuable learning and experience-sharing for better public health action."

A growing regional network that institutionalizes surveillance

The workshop also included training on Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) version 2 for participants from national and provincial centres for disease control and prevention. The EIOS is a WHO tool that enables early detection of potential outbreaks and public health risks, providing a critical time advantage for decision-making.

This was the third PHI–EIOS workshop jointly convened by China CDC and WHO since the series began in 2024. Each iteration has grown the network - from a handful of countries in its first year to an active regional community of practice today.

“This workshop advances the EIOS community of practice, strengthening early detection capacities, and supporting countries to embed multi-source surveillance into routine public health practice,” said Dr Sarika Patel, Programme Area Manager, Health Emergency Surveillance and Risk Management, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. “WHO is grateful for its partnership with China CDC, which advances public health intelligence capacity across the Region and exemplifies regional collaboration on multi-source surveillance and early warning,” she added.

“Combining innovation with practical implementation will be critical to strengthening surveillance systems that are more connected, responsive and capable of addressing future health threats," said Director,QI Xiaopeng, from the Center for Global Public Health, China CDC. 

A shared public health shield

No country’s national surveillance system, however advanced, can detect everything on its own. A signal detected early in one place, shared quickly and understood in context, is what allows a whole region to act before a local event becomes a regional emergency.

By strengthening technical skills, deepening regional cooperation and co-creating tools grounded in real country experience, the workshop reinforced the Region’s collective ability to detect, assess and respond to public health threats early. That collective capability supports regional implementation of the International Health Regulations and enables a more resilient, better-connected regional health security architecture - benefiting individual Member States and the Western Pacific Region’s 2.2 billion people as a whole.