Pandemic Fund Third Call for Proposals 

The Pandemic Fund announced the launch of the Third Call for Proposals. With an envelope of US$ 500 million, this round includes two phases:

• phase 1 is for single and multi-country proposals; and
• phase 2 is for regional entity proposals.

This call for proposals will continue to prioritize high-impact investments in:

• early warning and disease surveillance systems;
• laboratory systems (human and animal); and
• strengthening human resources/public health and community workforce capacity to help countries prevent, prepare for, and respond to health emergencies.

 Photo Pandemic Fund 

Strengthening Preparedness through Multi-Sectoral Collaboration

Multi-Sectoral Tabletop Simulation Exercise on a novel H5N1 mutant strain (H5N1 2.3.4.4XX) was conducted involving fifty-seven participants from nineteen sectors. This exercise fostered collaboration and coordination among stakeholders, simulating real-world scenarios to assess current capabilities and identify improvement areas in managing zoonotic disease outbreaks. It emphasized Bhutan’s commitment to safeguarding public health through multi-sectoral cooperation and readiness.

Strengthening Community Health: Refresher Training for Village Health Workers

A five-day refresher training for Village Health Workers (VHWs) was successfully held across four dzongkhags, enhancing their capacity in preventive and promotive healthcare. The training included topics on risk communication and event-based reporting during both normal and emergency settings. This initiative aimed to increase VHWs' knowledge and skills, improve health outcomes, and raise community awareness, ultimately strengthening the healthcare system at the grassroots level.

Kazakhstan

As part of the implementation of the Pandemic Fund activities in Kazakhstan, a training on the transportation of infectious substances was held from 11 to 13 March 2025 in Shymkent city for twenty-eight laboratory specialists working with respiratory viruses. The training covered international regulations for transporting dangerous goods, emphasizing safety, compliance, and best practices, as well as to create regional and national reserves of qualified experts in the field of transporting infectious substances in their countries and throughout the European region.

On 20 February 2025, Kazakhstan, in collaboration with the WHO Country Office, organized a roundtable on risk communication and community engagement during emergencies, as part of the Pandemic Fund project.
The meeting resulted in the development of an interdepartmental resolution plan and steps to strengthen Kazakhstan’s emergency preparedness, focusing on improved risk communication and population engagement.

Photos WHO Country Office in Kazakhstan

Mongolia

Mongolia continues to strengthen its public health systems by implementing a major resilience-building program. On
28 February 2025, the Ministry of Health launched the Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC), in partnership with WHO under a Pandemic Fund project.
Moreover, WHO provided technical support to conduct a simulation exercise with thirty-five participants from different sectors to reinforce the capacity for emergency preparedness of the country.
These efforts are part of a broader initiative to ensure Mongolia’s health system is more agile, coordinated, and resilient against current and future public health threats.

For more information, click on the links: Launching of the PHEOC, PHEOC Simulation Exercise, Facebook page

Photos WHO Country Office in Mongolia, © WHO/Jargalan Tsogt

Togo

Strengthening health emergency preparedness and response in Togo: first evaluation meeting of the Pandemic Fund project.

In February 2025, Togo held an evaluation meeting to assess progress on the project and ensuring better synergy among the involved agencies. 
Between August 2023 and February 2025, 56.1% of planned activities had been implemented, with a financial commitment rate of 50.9%, indicating that implementation is on track. Key achievements include supporting epidemic response, conducting a joint external evaluation followed by the development of a new National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), provision of equipment to strengthen surveillance of epidemic-prone diseases and zoonoses, and capacity building for the laboratory system.

Digitization of Maternal and Neonatal Death Surveillance Tools in Togo.

To enhance the surveillance of maternal and neonatal deaths, the Ministry of Health in Togo, through the Directorate of Maternal and Child Health (DSME) and the Directorate of the National Health Information System and Informatics (DSNISI), has begun digitizing data collection tools on the DHIS2 platform. This modernization aims to improve the tracking and analysis of maternal and child health indicators. The WHO Togo supports this initiative with technical and financial assistance, marking a significant step forward in utilizing data for improving healthcare.

Photos WHO Country Office in Togo

Yemen

Yemen's Pandemic Fund awarded project aims to protect and improve the health and well-being of the Yemeni people, livestock, and ecosystem by strengthening Yemen’s ability to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to endemic and pandemic threats. 
With the support from WHO, Yemen rolled out electronic Integrated Disease Early Warning System (eIDEWS) training for one thousand health workers, boosting national capacity. Two intermediate (9-month) Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) were launched, training over forty frontline health workers across the country. Yemen successfully submitted its 2024 e-SPAR and finalized a national SOP for IHR communication to improve event reporting.

Photo WHO Country Office in Yemen

Headquarters

Learning Collaborative— showcase good practice and foster peer learning.

WHO, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), organized two webinars, as part of learning collaborative, to foster peer learning, knowledge sharing, and evidence generation across the globe, facilitating the dissemination of best practices and lessons learned.

The first one was on leveraging partnership for delivery. Opened by WHO ADG Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, insights from WHO, FAO, UNICEF were shared; and Ethiopia experience brought in great value. 

The second webinar focused on leveraging investment for Pandemic PPR. It explored diverse funding sources and strategic investment planning. The webinar was held right after the portal opened for the Third Call for Proposals, bringing in valuable insights and advice from speakers, helping countries develop strong proposals for PPR initiatives.

Pandemic Fund Navigator: get into pandemic fund project information by a click.

As part of WHO’s role as an Implementing Entity, and in line with the commitment to transparency, learning, accelerated and structured implementation, WHO headquarters has launched the Pandemic Fund (PF) Navigator.

This WHO internal information portal showcases the collective efforts, highlighting programmatic and financial progress, as well as technical and strategic contributions across regions and countries. This initial version of the PF Navigator includes essential information on all First and Second Call for Proposals projects, including team and stakeholder details. It also features dedicated content for the five fast-tracked Mpox projects under the Second Call for Proposals.

Its upcoming releases include stronger emphasis on both quantitative and qualitative progress as well as periodic capture of major achievements.

Photos WHO headquarters © WHO /Ayman Badr

Strengthening risk assessment capacity for zoonotic influenza in South American countries.

PAHO, in collaboration with its partners, is supporting countries in conducting Intersectoral Risk Assessment for Zoonotic Influenza (EVIR) workshops as part of the multi-country PROTECT project, funded by the Pandemic Fund. These workshops have already been held in Ecuador and Colombia, with the next one scheduled for April in Chile.

This initiative employs a purpose-built online tool to assess and identify key risk characteristics associated with the transmission of zoonotic avian influenza at the human-animal interface. Participants from public health, animal health, and environmental sectors, as well as academia and the private sector, collaborate to evaluate risks and define key roles in prevention, surveillance, control, and outbreak response. The EVIR strengthens evidence-based risk management strategies and enhances the capacity to respond to potential zoonotic avian influenza outbreaks.

Click on the links for more information on the workshops in Ecuador and Colombia.

Photo WHO Regional Office for the Americas

WHO, in collaboration with FAO, UNICEF, and World Bank launched the multi-country project to strengthen collaborative surveillance and diagnostic readiness for pandemic preparedness and response. The project involves eight countries-Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste. It focuses on strengthening health systems focusing on surveillance, diagnostics, and human resources capacities for pandemic preparedness and response.

Read more: Multi-country initiative launched to strengthen pandemic preparedness

Photo WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia

As part of strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) in Togo, the WHO has provided a hundred and twenty autoclaves to the Ministry of Health. These sterilization devices effectively eliminate microorganisms from medical instruments and biomedical waste using high-pressure steam at high temperatures. This initiative is a significant advancement in ensuring safer healthcare and reducing the spread of healthcare-associated infections.

Photo WHO Country Office in Togo