Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
National public health agencies (NPHAs) are essential to preventing, detecting, and responding to health threats. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed major governance and structural weaknesses that limited their ability to perform these core functions. Many agencies faced restrictive mandates, rigid bureaucratic structures, unclear accountability, and limited autonomy. At the same time, the responsibilities of NPHAs continued to expand to cover antimicrobial resistance, climate-related risks, and emerging infectious threats. Governance models often did not keep pace, leaving critical gaps in national preparedness.
This World Health Summit 2025 Workshop – co-hosted by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) and the WHO Health Emergencies Programme – explored how governance reforms could strengthen NPHAs for future pandemics. The session was moderated by Sara Hersey (WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence) and Kumanan Rasanathan (AHPSR). It examined lessons from a multi-country learning program that studied structural arrangements across diverse NPHAs, from autonomous agencies to line ministries.
Speakers Helen Clark (Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research), Johanna Hanefeld (Robert Koch Institute, Germany), Edson Rwagasore (Rwanda Biomedical Center), S. Mahendra Arnold (Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka), Chikwe Ihekweazu (World Health Organization), and Vernon Lee (Communicable Diseases Agency, Singapore) shared insights from country reforms and operational challenges. They discussed how improved governance, clearer mandates, stronger autonomy, and better coordination could enhance NPHA performance during routine operations and emergencies.
The session highlighted how evidence from recent reforms could guide national leaders, international organizations, and funders in building more effective and resilient public health agencies worldwide.
The World Health Summit is the leading global platform bringing together science, politics, civil society, and the private sector to catalyze collaborative and innovative solutions for key health priorities.
National public health agencies (NPHAs) are essential to preventing, detecting, and responding to health threats. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed major governance and structural weaknesses that limited their ability to perform these core functions. Many agencies faced restrictive mandates, rigid bureaucratic structures, unclear accountability, and limited autonomy. At the same time, the responsibilities of NPHAs continued to expand to cover antimicrobial resistance, climate-related risks, and emerging infectious threats. Governance models often did not keep pace, leaving critical gaps in national preparedness.
This World Health Summit 2025 Workshop – co-hosted by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) and the WHO Health Emergencies Programme – explored how governance reforms could strengthen NPHAs for future pandemics. The session was moderated by Sara Hersey (WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence) and Kumanan Rasanathan (AHPSR). It examined lessons from a multi-country learning program that studied structural arrangements across diverse NPHAs, from autonomous agencies to line ministries.
Speakers Helen Clark (Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research), Johanna Hanefeld (Robert Koch Institute, Germany), Edson Rwagasore (Rwanda Biomedical Center), S. Mahendra Arnold (Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka), Chikwe Ihekweazu (World Health Organization), and Vernon Lee (Communicable Diseases Agency, Singapore) shared insights from country reforms and operational challenges. They discussed how improved governance, clearer mandates, stronger autonomy, and better coordination could enhance NPHA performance during routine operations and emergencies.
The session highlighted how evidence from recent reforms could guide national leaders, international organizations, and funders in building more effective and resilient public health agencies worldwide.
The World Health Summit is the leading global platform bringing together science, politics, civil society, and the private sector to catalyze collaborative and innovative solutions for key health priorities.
