The testimony with recommendations the WHO plays the primary role in requiring country reports on infectious disease outbreaks and in coordinating with countries' health systems to conduct infectious disease prevention and containment. However, because of the limitations on funding and personnel, the WHO relies strongly on the country reports for initial reporting. The WHO can only verify the information on the country reports by sending its own investigation team if a federal government invites WHO teams to travel to the country. Bilateral collaborations promote data sharing on emerging diseases; however, the collaboration depends on the relationship between the two countries. Information sharing can be curtailed when the overall bilateral

relationship experiences difficulties. An informal infectious disease database requires an open and consistent internet system used by all countries. Therefore, the information available from this channel is not consistent across the globe. Improvement on data sharing for disease detection and control will rely on protected international collaborations and open access to internet search engines.

Document submitted March 5, 2020, as an addendum to testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation on February 5, 2020.

Sourced from: https://www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/CT523z2.html