The aim of this initiative is to forge stronger global collaboration on health security by addressing health threats from chemical, biological and radio/nuclear agents and by improving preparedness and responses to pandemics.
Health ministers and high level representatives from countries around the world meet regularly to take these issues forward and their last meeting focused particularly on the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The EU’s top priority, according to its representative at the meeting, is to help stop the epidemic in the affected countries through deployment of financial and human resources for health care, laboratories, contact tracing, community outreach and key infrastructure including sanitation.
The EU is also providing assistance to help to rebuild health systems in the long term.
Other specific topics within the GHSI’s wide range of activities include public health measures, sample sharing, management of global health threats, the deployment of medical countermeasures, the support to the recovery phase after an emergency and the building of resilience.
For more information on the EU’s work on health security, click here on www.ec.europa.eu
For more information on the GHSI, click here on www.ghsi.ca