Regional Hub Update

The roll-out of our regional hub strategy continues to make steady progress. During our General Assembly in Berlin, the session devoted to developing the regional hubs, chaired by GloPID-R co-chair Yazdan Yazdanpanah and SAMRC President and CEO Glenda Gray, included several informative presentations and rich discussion about the alignment of regional hubs with local agendas and GloPID-R’s priorities.

The “4-hub” structure allows nimble coordination of preparedness and response activities in particular by strengthening regional research networks across LMICs. This approach will help address inequity in research funding and will contribute to regional responsibilities and ownership.

The regional hubs work in close coordination with the GloPID-R central Secretariat and the Executive Board. Two hubs are currently in development:

• The Asia-Pacific Regional Hub: In 2021, the pilot hub was set up under the leadership of Choong-Min Ryu of NRF/KRIBB (National Research Foundation of South Korea/Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology). A kick-off conference is being organized November 9 and 10, 2022 in South Korea to advance the establishment of this hub.
• The African Regional Hub: Following the successful application for an EDCTP grant funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care (UK DHSC), the African regional hub is well under way, led by GloPID-R co-chair Charles Shey Wiysonge of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). A first meeting was held at SAMRC Cape Town in late September to begin working on a detailed roadmap to guide the first phase. A launch meeting of this regional hub is planned in 2023.