ECDC Summer School 2024: Assessing and anticipating threats in public health
Delegates from the Western Balkans and Turkey, alongside representatives from the Africa CDC and MediPIET, were active participants in this year's European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Summer School, held from 22 – 24 May in Stockholm, Sweden.
The program focused on leveraging mathematical modeling and strategic foresight analysis to strengthen public health resilience. Designed to equip participants with the tools and understanding needed to interpret and utilise anticipatory approaches in public health decision-making, the meeting gathered 53 professionals from diverse backgrounds interested to improve their skills in this area.
The training was tailored for those involved in planning interventions and resource allocation, targeted both specialists and generalists keen on navigating the complexities of anticipatory modeling and strategic foresight.
With a focus on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the delegates got the chance to familiarise themselves with key components and concepts of infectious disease transmission and control, enabling them to analyse and interpret modeling outputs effectively and thereby enhancing their ability to anticipate and respond to emerging public health challenges proactively.
Background
The ECDC Summer School is an annual event for public health experts within the ECDC network. It aims to build and further develop the EU/EEA Member States` and partner countries` public health capacity in the field of communicable diseases.
