Strengthening global health security through locally led research

Global health systems and the people they serve remain vulnerable to infectious disease threats. Yet persistent weaknesses in policy implementation limit efforts to prevent, prepare for and respond to such threats. Recent outbreaks — including COVID-19, Ebola, mpox and dengue — have exposed serious gaps in public health systems and policies, resulting in millions of deaths and major economic losses.

Among several global threats, worsening climate change and growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are exacerbating these challenges. Globally, climate change is projected to cause 250,000 deaths annually between 2030 and 2050, while AMR is expected to lead to 39 million deaths over the next 25 years. These threats strain already fragile health systems and disproportionately affect women and marginalized populations. Together, these vulnerabilities highlight why strengthening global health security is essential.

Advancing global health security

Advancing global health security (GHS), including through initiatives such as the WHO Pandemic Agreement, requires stronger national, regional and international health system capacities to detect, assess and respond to emerging threats. This requires: 

• improving access to health services and treatment 
• supporting vaccine development and distribution 
• enhancing pandemic preparedness 

From humanitarian crises to climate change and AMR, public health threats undermine progress toward health equity. Their impacts are unevenly distributed across genders, populations, socio-economic groups and geographies. Marginalized and vulnerable groups have greater difficulties accessing essential health services. Continued investments in equitable, evidence-based solutions are needed to mitigate health crises, ensure economic stability and foster sustainable development. 

IDRC’s global health programming has positioned Canada as a leader in equitable, evidence-based health research, investing more than CAD150 million to: 

• accelerate vaccine readiness 
• advance local innovation in epidemic preparedness and disease control 
• build resilient health systems 

Four IDRC projects illustrate how research is driving local positive GHS outcomes with potential wider geographic significance. 

Clinical trials for Ebola vaccine readiness in Uganda

Ebola is a highly infectious disease with a case fatality rate of approximately 50%. Three strains of Ebola are known to cause wide outbreaks. However, vaccines and therapeutics are limited to the Zaire strain, with no approved vaccine or treatment for the Sudan and Bundibugyo strains.

When there are no known treatments or vaccines for infectious disease threats, embedding vaccine research into the earliest stages of outbreak response can be crucial for protecting millions of lives. High-quality trials are essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of vaccines across different Ebola strains. 

Following a January 2025 Sudan strain outbreak in Uganda, WHO and local collaborators — supported by IDRC and other Canadian funders — launched a clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of a candidate vaccine. The trial was established in just four days, instead of months, while meeting national and international regulatory and ethical standards. This remarkable speed was possible because of prior research preparedness, including obtaining pre-approved clinical trial protocols from regulatory authorities in Uganda and strong collaboration with leading local scientists. 

The project is strengthening outbreak preparedness in 17 African countries by facilitating regulatory streamlining through the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum and by creating protocols to assess vaccines and treatments against all filoviruses, not just a single virus type or strain. A major focus is on capacity building, training more than 180 local experts and regulators in clinical trial design, data management and logistics. 

The project established the Collaborative Open Research Consortium for filoviruses such as Ebola and Marburg. The consortium is part of a global network bringing together researchers, developers, funders, regulators and others to collaborate on pathogen families that are a threat to GHS.

Scaling malaria treatment for African children

In 2024, more than 280 million people were infected with malaria and 610,000 people died from the disease. Africa faces the highest burden of the disease (95%) with children under 5 accounting for 75% of malaria deaths in the region. Malaria prevention efforts are essential alongside therapeutics. Intervention models in one country can benefit other neighbouring and farther geographies, as demonstrated by research in Burkina Faso and across West Africa.

In Burkina Faso, IDRC-funded research evaluated the impact of seasonal malaria chemoprevention, where children between the ages of 3 months and 5 years receive cyclical courses of antimalarial medicines during peak transmission times. Malaria cases among children in the study sites were reduced by 51%. The Ministry of Health scaled the program from 7 to 65 districts, making it one of the most extensive malaria prevention programs in West Africa.

The project tested the effectiveness of a national policy to abolish user fees for pregnant women and children under 5. Results show reduced childhood malaria cases and stronger, more resilient health service delivery.

Chagas disease control in Central America

Chagas disease, a parasitic infection, is a major global and economic threat primarily affecting vulnerable communities. Predominantly found in South and Central America, the disease impacts approximately 7 million people worldwide.

Without early diagnosis and treatment, debilitating long-term symptoms can emerge. Approximately 10,000 people die from the disease each year. Without a vaccine, vector control is the main method to prevent Chagas.

In 2017, IDRC funded a project that significantly advanced the fight against Chagas in rural Central America. The initiative developed a sensitive diagnostic tool to analyze vector feeding patterns. The team pioneered a novel, community-led surveillance system that enabled residents to use traps and a mobile app to report the vector’s presence directly to local health authorities, generating critical entomological data, or information on disease-carrying insects. As a result, 32 villages in Guatemala are now free of Chagas transmission.

Low-cost Zika virus detection in South America

From 2015 to 2017, a Zika outbreak in South America resulted in the discovery of a link between Zika infection in pregnancy and congenital malformations, pre-term births and miscarriages.

The outbreak exposed diagnostic gaps across Latin America and led to the creation of PLUM, a novel, paper-based diagnostic platform using synthetic biology. This portable, CAD500 “lab-in-a-box” detects clinically significant levels of Zika, dengue and chikungunya.

The platform’s flexibility and scalability offer a cost-effective solution for public health systems in low- and middle-income countries. The project boosted regional capacity through specialized training for researchers in Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia. The technology and expertise were quickly adapted during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating PLUM’s potential as a point-of-care detection device for SARS-CoV-2.

Toward greater health equity and outcomes

IDRC-supported research has shown that scalable and sustainable public health solutions in low-resource settings are driven by community-led approaches, context-responsive innovations and strategic partnerships. These types of responses are well suited to address emerging threats and the changing landscape of GHS.

Across projects, research teams show how sustained, locally led investment strengthens GHS and infectious disease control. The projects delivered national, subregional and regional level innovative solutions that are potentially poised for adaptation in wider geographies, strengthened vaccine readiness and led to wide-reaching impacts on health systems. IDRC is well-positioned to build on this strong foundation by scaling proven models, expanding partnerships and deepening regional engagement to strengthen a more equitable and resilient global health security ecosystem.

Contributors: Fabiano Santos, senior program specialist, IDRC; Aisha Barkhad, external consultant; Natacha Lecours, senior program specialist, IDRC; Sam Oji Oti, senior program specialist, IDRC; Sarah Czunyi, senior program officer, IDRC; Chaitali Sinha, senior program specialist, IDRC; and Adrijana Corluka, senior program specialist, IDRC.