The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced $4 million in funding to create a catalytic grant fund for organizations working in pathogen genomic surveillance.

The initial grants for the catalytic fund have been provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Wellcome, to support the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN), a new global network of pathogen surveillance actors. Hosted by the United Nations Foundation on behalf of IPSN, the fund will support pilot projects globally—particularly in low- and middle-income countries—that can create an evidence base for how to quickly scale pathogen genomic surveillance. Pathogen genomics analyses the genetic code of viruses, bacteria, and other disease-causing organisms to understand them so that scientists and public health officials can identify and track pathogens to prevent and respond to outbreaks as part of a broader disease surveillance system, and to develop treatments and vaccines.

“Genomic surveillance is a critical tool for countries to respond to public health threats. However, access to genomics has been highly uneven, and there is a risk that the incredible capabilities built up during the COVID-19 pandemic will be lost as the world’s focus shifts,” said WHO director for collaborative intelligence Sara Hersey. “The new fund will support the sustainable implementation of genomic surveillance in countries at all income levels, outside of pandemics, so that we can maintain these critical capabilities within national health systems.”

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