​PROGRAMME

- Updates on the progression of the arboviral threat worldwide (dengue, Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever, Oropouche fever...)

​​- Member States statements on arboviruses experiences and collaborative strategies

​- Discussion with participants and forum for exchange of best practices  

​​​- Open discussion and networking among participants 

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BACKGROUND

Arboviruses, a group of viral infections transmitted by infected arthropods including mosquitoes, ticks and midges, represent a growing and significant public health threat globally[1]. Dengue fever, a tropical disease found in just 9 countries in the 1970s, is now observed in over 140 countries with reported dengue cases growing tenfold just over the last two decades. Explosive outbreaks and the circulation of four closely related but distinct dengue serotypes are likely to pose future scientific and operational challenges. The same period has witnessed the emergence and re-emergence of chikungunya outbreaks across continents. Other mosquito-borne diseases such as yellow fever have a strong potential for large urban outbreaks in vulnerable populations and, since late 2023, Oropouche fever has spread out of South America and the Caribbean to nonendemic areas. Concerns have emerged about congenital and other complications[2]. This is signalling that new regions have become environmentally suitable to arboviral diseases and an additional half-billion individuals could be at risk of them by 2050.

 

Although arboviruses and the forces driving their expansion are threats of a global nature, response to these outbreaks often remains fragmented. With gaps in coordination, diagnosis and surveillance, accurate monitoring and response to outbreaks can remain a challenge. In addition, this progression in intensity and geography places acute strain on health services: health systems have been shaken by unprecedented arbovirus outbreaks.

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As arbovirus outbreaks expose how deeply interconnected climate, urbanisation, mobility and health systems truly are, the monitoring and response to arbovirus outbreaks offers the promise of a new era of global health collaboration. Their expanding reach is pushing countries to strengthen early‑warning systems, integrate environmental and health data and invest in more agile, community‑centred responses. They’re also accelerating the shift toward prevention‑focused strategies from vector control to vaccination and climate‑informed planning, while highlighting persistent inequities in access to diagnostics, surveillance and care. In many ways, arboviruses offer a path to fundamentally shape the future of global health.

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On many levels, arboviruses are acting as a stress test that is driving stakeholders and policy makers toward more resilient, anticipatory and collaborative models of action. Shaken or shaped, arboviruses will transform the future of global health.

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This WHA79 Side Event aims to place arboviruses at the centre stage of the global health agenda, highlighting their acute threat to global health, as well as the catalytic role collaboration on arboviruses.

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OUTCOMES
In light of this, this WHA79 Side Event proposes to offer a forum as part of the 79th World Health Assembly to public health officials, policy makers and organisations, industry, NGOs and civil society as well as Member States and the WHO to:

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• share updates on the evolving global arboviral situation

• share Member State experiences and recommendations to strengthen and intensity arbovirus surveillance, including regionally or internationally

• frame the current arbovirus outbreaks as an opportunity to strengthen international cooperation on global health threats, through the lens of current wider efforts in pandemic preparations

• to provide a breakfast networking opportunity around the topic of arboviral diseases

• to result in a Briefing Paper with recommendations