ECDC holds annual disease preparedness meeting

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) held its annual meeting of national focus points (NFP) for disease preparedness and response in Stockholm on 20 September.

Participants reviewed the ECDC’s current priorities, and deliberated on core areas for further collaboration in 2024. Areas of discussion included threat detection, early warning and response systems (EWRS), and international health regulations (IHR).

In a statement, the ECDC said that the meeting ‘provided a good opportunity’ for participants to ‘take stock of current activities and discuss collaborative actions’.

NFP attendees came from across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). Additionally, the meeting was attended by seven nominated experts – observer NFPs – from Turkey and the Western Balkans.

The ECDC’s mandate was extended by the EU in late 2022.