Driving sustainability in global outbreak response through international partnership
UK Health Security Agency
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.
In the UK, recent cases of Lassa fever and mpox clade I - serious imported infections requiring rapid response - highlight the critical importance of strong global relationships. Diseases travel, just like people do.
The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team's (UK-PHRST) work in addressing global health emergencies is a crucial part of UKHSA’s global footprint in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U. of London .
At our 2025 conference (UKHSA25) in Manchester recently, we convened with experts from Africa CDC , the World Health Organization , European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) , Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in a session to discuss sustainable outbreak response. Together, we explored how international collaboration protects lives amid concurrent humanitarian crises and public health emergencies.
Building lasting resilience
Our discussions emphasised that sustainability extends beyond immediate action to creating enduring health response infrastructure. As Director of UK-PHRST, I value our team's rapid deployment capabilities when international governments and multilateral partners request assistance. However, effective response also strengthens national and local public health readiness, empowers communities, and develops capabilities that persist after international teams depart.
Partnership and equity
Global health security requires leveraging comparative strengths among response partners who collaborate rather than compete. This approach builds trust, enhances transparency and prevents duplication. As demands grow and resources diminish, we must utilise existing networks such as the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network to coordinate efforts.
Equity must also be at the heart of everything we do. UK-PHRST has worked alongside exceptional public health professionals globally, including in our recent support to Africa CDC's continental mpox response. These partnerships yield mutual learning opportunities, and I consistently advocate for our partners' needs and capabilities.
Our cross-government approach with the Department of Health and Social Care , Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and other departments strengthens the UK's contribution to global health security, aligning our work with broader international development goals.
Community engagement and appropriate technology
Partnership with affected communities is essential throughout our work - from readiness to respond to long-term recovery - ensuring interventions address the needs of those most affected by emergencies.
While technological innovations like artificial intelligence offer promise, our panellists provided a nuanced perspective reflecting UKHSA25's health equity theme: many UK-aid eligible partner countries rely on less data-intensive systems where community-based surveillance remains the gold standard. Introducing complex, expensive technological solutions often proves unsustainable. Our approach focuses on strengthening existing systems while building evidence for locally effective technologies.
Moving forward
The UK-PHRST continues to advocate for our partners, support national and local responses, and strengthen emergency response readiness - work that saves both lives and resources.
We appreciate everyone who contributed to our panel and engages with our work. UK-PHRST remains committed to making an impactful, insightful and inclusive difference to complex public health emergencies worldwide.
Members of the UKHSA 25 panel shown in the picture above:
Dr Thomas Hofmann (Head of Emergency Preparedness and Response at ECDC)
Uzoamaka Gilpin (Africa Global Health Security Team Leader and Senior Responsible Officer, Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme Phase II (TDDAP 2))
Dr Thomas Waite (Deputy Chief Medical Officer at DHSC)
Dr Melissa McRae (Senior Researcher in Medical Ethics at MSF)
Dr Edmund Newman (Director, UK-PHRST at UKHSA)