Professor Alan Christoffels represented South Africa in Geneva during WHO discussions on pathogen data sharing, equitable benefit access and the PABS annex of the global pandemic agreement.
The articles on this page bring together news, stories, and updates from the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE). They highlight our projects, collaborations, events, and milestones as we work with partners around the world to strengthen genomic epidemiology and public health practice.
Browse the posts below to explore what PHA4GE has been doing, learn about new resources and initiatives, and follow how our community is growing and evolving over time.
Professor Alan Christoffels represented South Africa in Geneva during WHO discussions on pathogen data sharing, equitable benefit access and the PABS annex of the global pandemic agreement.
International pathogen genomics experts joined a PHA4GE and IPSN webinar to share how rapid sequencing and global collaboration helped identify Andes virus during the 2026 MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak.
PHA4GE’s Keaghan Brown joined wastewater and environmental surveillance experts in Ghana to present bioinformatics capacity-building work and help advance discussions on sustainable disease surveillance systems in Africa.
PHA4GE member Dylan Pilz won best poster presentation at the Wastewater & Environmental Surveillance Meeting 2026 in Ghana for work on rapid detection of cryptic SARS-CoV-2 variants in South African wastewater.
Global public health experts met to refine metadata standards for cholera, malaria, meningitis and neonatal sepsis, strengthening the use of pathogen genomics in outbreak response and health decision-making.
PHA4GE convened its second biennial conference in collaboration with the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) Global Partners Forum. The joint event took place from the 27th - 29th of October 2025 at Century City Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa.
More than 270 scientists, policy-makers, funders and public health experts from around the world attended the third International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) Global Partners Forum in Cape Town, South Africa from 27 to 29 October 2025. The forum was held jointly with the second Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE) biennial conference and was co-hosted by the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence and WHO’s Regional Office for Africa.
We are delighted to announce that the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) - a global network of pathogen genomic actors, brought together by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, is partnering with the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE) and WHO Regional Office for Africa for the upcoming PHA4GE Conference and IPSN Global Partners Forum (GPF) 2025.
Dr Zoe Dyson (LSHTM) introduced phylodynamics at the July Bioinformatics Pipelines & Visualization meeting, exploring pathogen evolution, resistance, and public health applications.