By Aminata Kuyateh
MRC The Gambia with support from Data.org hosted the third annual Epiverse-Trace Summit under the theme: “Strengthening Sustainable and Inclusive Analytics Ecosystem for Epidemic Preparedness”.
The summit brings together a host of national and international stakeholders each year to discuss progress, evaluate deliverables, and plan future activities to bolster epidemic preparedness and sustainable and inclusive systems to address global health threats.
In his keynote address, Health Minister Dr Ahmadou Samateh emphasised the critical need for robust and inclusive data ecosystems to strengthen public health systems worldwide.
He stated that the Covid-19 pandemic underscored the importance of timely and effective data analytics in responding to global health crises. “This summit is a vital platform to ensure we remain prepared for future epidemics,” Dr Samateh added.
The principal investigator of the Epiverse-Trace Project, Bubacarr Bah said this year’s summit provides an opportunity to discuss the implementation of the second phase of the project and to gather reviews and feedback to strengthen the proposal for the follow-up phase roadmap.
Uyi Stewart from Data,org expressed his organisation’s continuous commitment to democratising access to data science and analytics tools for low and middle income countries, ensuring no one is left behind in the fight against infectious diseases.
Discussions centered on advancements in epidemic response analytics and the need for strengthened partnerships to foster innovation and resilience in healthcare systems.
The MRC reaffirmed its commitment to creating impactful, data-driven solutions for epidemic preparedness.
