Building Collective Resilience through Data Sharing and Partnership

At the Global Health Security (GHS) Conference 2026 in Malaysia from June 9 to 12, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reviewed recent trends in international collaboration to strengthening global health security. It also discussed cooperative tasks on infectious disease response during bilateral working-level meetings with overseas public health agencies and international organizations, expanding its partnership network.

On June 12, KDCA hosted a data-focused panel session as part of a national policy task to strengthen infectious disease collaboration networks across the Asia-Pacific region. The session, titled “Collective Resilience: Building a Scalable Asia-Pacific Infectious Disease Network through Strategic Data Sharing and Partnership”, brought together experts from the Republic of Korea, the U. S., and Australia, to share policies and best practices and to discuss future directions for cross-border data collaboration.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) introduced its data modernization strategy, while emphasizing that the core of data modernization lies in establishing strong governance and standardizing operational systems rather than merely focusing on technology. The U.S. CDC also underscored that trust must come first in international data-sharing, which can be built on robust legal frameworks, clear data-sharing policies, privacy protection systems, and accountability mechanisms.

The Australian Centre for Disease Control (Australian CDC) presented Australia’s public health data network and national surveillance systems, emphasizing interoperability as a core capacity for infectious disease response. The Australian CDC further addressed the significance of data standardization and common data semantics to enable smoother data sharing between countries.

KDCA explained how forecasting modeling supports decision-making in public health policy through AI-based Korea Forecast Hub. Building on its current influenza forecasting model, KDCA shared plans to expand the platform to cover COVID-19, antimicrobial resistance, and heat-related illnesses, while also outlining a vision to build a global forecasting network.

Presentation slide of KDCA

The session reaffirmed that expanding infectious disease data collaboration requires sound governance frameworks and standardized systems grounded in trust between countries before advancing technical development. It also highlighted the potential to foster Asia-Pacific regional collaboration through a partner-network model, rather than relying on a single system.

Presentation of KDCA

On June 8, KDCA attended a side event of the GHS Conference 2026 on the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)’s Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Project in Ghana. Under the theme of “Multi-sectoral Capacity Building for Public Health Emergency Preparedness”, KOICA, the University of Ghana, and the U.S. CDC office in Ghana shared best practices from the Korea-Ghana GHSA project.

Participants addressed the importance of rapid infectious disease diagnostic systems, 7-1-7 framework, and One-Health-based multisectoral collaboration, discussing strategies for strengthening public health emergency response capacity.

KDCA has participated in the KOICA Ghana GHSA project from its early stages, including involvement in the initial feasibility study and planning. Drawing on its experience in the project, the agency shared the substantial outcomes of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) initiative, highlighting the need for continued collaboration and solidarity to strengthen global health security emergency response capacity.

Through participating in the conference, KDCA reaffirmed the significance of international collaboration for building data-driven infectious disease networks and strengthening public health emergency preparedness. Moving forward, KDCA will continually strive to expand international partnerships to enhance global health security response capacity.