Note from the Board
Dear Readers,
At the GloPID-R’s annual General Assembly, hosted this week by our member ANRS MIE in Paris, we have once again brought together our Members, Observers, the Secretariat, and the Board. The General Assembly is a moment for collective reflection as it offers an opportunity to take stock of lessons learned, celebrate achievements, and chart the strategic direction for the year(s) to come.
The year behind us has been a stark reminder of why our work matters. Clade I mpox spread across Central and Eastern Africa, prompting a WHO Public Health Emergency of International Concern declaration in August 2024, with the more transmissible clade 1b variant subsequently spreading internationally, including both travel-associated and unassociated cases reported in multiple countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. Senegal is confronting its worst Rift Valley Fever outbreak in decades with spill over in Mauritania and other Sahelian regions, with sequencing confirming lineage H — a strain previously seen in Senegal’s 2020 and 2022 clusters and in Mauritania’s 2020 outbreak suggesting persistence versus a new introduction. We witnessed the emergence of a new H5N1 genotype in the dairy cattle D1.1 which is now the dominant strain in migratory birds. Chikungunya surge of cases, 445,271 suspected and confirmed cases and 155 deaths globally across 40 countries, with mainland France experiencing a novel outbreak of 570 locally acquired cases—driven over 54,000 cases in Réunion Island, and the emergence of the novel Oropouche viral lineage spreading beyond its traditional endemic zones. Cases of measles surged dramatically, underscoring the fragility of our gains against vaccine-preventable diseases. As we write the DRC and international partners are responding to the DRC’s declared sixteenth Ebola outbreak from a novel spill over event in Kasai Province, a remote, hard-to-reach area in eastern DRC. These outbreaks collectively demonstrate that the threats we face are not hypothetical—they are here, they are evolving, and they demand coordinated action.
As outbreak risks continue, the global health research ecosystem is undergoing transformation in recognition of ongoing risks to global health security. The WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted by 124 countries in May 2025, represents the second major legally binding treaty under the WHO Constitution, embedding equity and accountability into global health governance. The World Bank’s Pandemic Fund has awarded $885 million in grants, catalyzing an additional $6 billion for preparedness in 75 countries. The WHO established Collaborative Open Research Consortia (CORCs), one year into their formation around pathogen families, are working towards research agendas. However, financial constraints and cuts to biomedical research, implementation, and heath care funding threaten to undermine progress, making efficient coordination among funders more critical than ever.
In this context, our collective voice and shared commitment have never been more important. At the heart of our discussions this year will be how GloPID-R can continue to strategically strengthen collaboration across this evolving global ecosystem to ensure coordination for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and accelerated research response aligned with health emergency goals. This General Assembly will provide a vital opportunity for members to shape our direction forward—your perspectives, experiences, and insights from the field are essential as we navigate these challenging times together.
One highlight of 2025 has been the launch of our Global Research Improving Pandemic Preparedness (GRIPP) mechanism’s first coordinated funding call, focused on strengthening the clinical research ecosystem in low- and middle-income countries to improve clinical trial good practices. This milestone marks the delivery of a key commitment made to our members to establish a coordinated, multinational funding mechanism that supports equitable, sustainable preparedness. The strong engagement seen at the GRIPP informational webinar, attended by over 100 participants from more than 30 countries, demonstrates the power of our collective approach and the global relevance of member-driven initiatives.
The Board is delighted to welcome two new members: CEPI and GHIT. Their elevation to Member status reflects both the deepening of strategic partnerships and the growing recognition of GloPID-R’s vital coordinating role in an increasingly complex landscape.
We gather in Paris in increasingly difficult times for Global Health—facing both mounting disease threats and financial pressures. The outbreaks of the past year and the architectural shifts in global health governance underscore the urgency of our mission. Building on the foundation we have laid through GRIPP, Pandemic Pact, the Clinical Trials Roadmap, and our growing cooperation with CORCs, and drawing on the expertise and commitment of all our members, we will continue working to ensure optimal preparedness to contain outbreaks and to ensure that global research funding systems respond swiftly, equitably, and effectively when the next outbreak arises. We look forward to productive discussions in Paris that will inform our collective strategy for the year ahead.
Sincerely,
The GloPID-R Board
