Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, today inaugurated WHO’s first-ever standing Technical Advisory Group (TAG) tasked with advising WHO/Europe on risk communication, community engagement and infodemic management (RCCE-IM). The TAG was launched more than 3 years into the COVID-19 pandemic amid multiple other overlapping emergencies, including mpox, the ever-mounting climate crisis with its impacts on health and, not least, the relentless war in Ukraine.
Speaking to TAG members, who come from 18 different countries across the WHO European Region, Dr Kluge said, “The COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies – collectively constituting what we call a permacrisis – have shown us how crucial risk communication, community engagement and infodemic management are to protecting health. Despite this – up until now – we have tended to devote much less brainpower to analysing evidence on these areas than, for example, epidemiology or microbiology when responding to health and humanitarian emergencies.”
The Chair of the Technical Advisory Group, Laura Woodward, who is Head of Risk Communication and Emergencies at the UK Health Security Agency said, “Now, more than ever, WHO Member States realize the importance of RCCE-IM, which is a public health intervention in itself with a significant impact on the success of preventing and controlling health emergencies. This Technical Advisory Group will help sift through the evidence, share practical experience from across countries and areas on what works, and will provide recommendations for the most effective approaches and vital investments health authorities need to make.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed that all key health protection interventions – from hand-washing to contact tracing to vaccination – depend on engagement, cooperation and support from affected communities and populations,” noted Dr Gerald Rockenschaub, Regional Emergency Director at WHO/Europe. “Effective RCCE-IM is central to winning this support and empowering people to protect the health of themselves and their loved ones.”
“Evidence-based RCCE-IM is crucial to effective health emergency response, which protects health and saves lives,” said Cristiana Salvi, Regional Advisor, Risk Communication and Community Engagement at WHO/Europe. “With this advisory group, WHO’s Regional Office for Europe has access to a wealth of knowledge and experience on what RCCE-IM strategies and actions work best, across its 53 countries straddling Europe and Central Asia.”
The 20 members of the TAG were appointed by the Regional Director on 15 February 2023 for a period of 2 years following an open call for experts in 2022. Representing 18 different countries across the Region, they include RCCE-IM practitioners from national public health institutes and civil society organizations, as well as academics and researchers.
The TAG’s core mandate is to advise WHO/Europe on the current state of the art in RCCE-IM-related research, analysis and innovation in best practice; and how this might be applied to the design, implementation and evaluation of RCCE-IM strategies and actions across the emergency life-cycle.
During its inaugural meeting, from 26–27 April in Copenhagen, the TAG discussed RCCE-IM strategies and actions for ongoing emergencies, such as COVID-19, mpox and the humanitarian responses to the Ukraine war and Türkiye earthquakes. It will also discuss longer term capacity building on RCCE-IM and preparedness for future emergencies.