The memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed to strengthen the collaboration between the 2 agencies on matters of communicable diseases prevention and control.
The areas of mutual interest for cooperation under this MoU include:
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epidemic intelligence - sharing information rapidly, particularly in the event of a public health emergency
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health risk assessments
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laboratory capacity-building and enhancement to detect and respond to emerging disease threats of global health importance
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antimicrobial resistance
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healthcare-associated infections
Dr Jenny Harries said:
I am pleased to sign this agreement with Director Ammon today. This MoU demonstrates UKHSA's ongoing commitment, on behalf of the UK, to the closest possible collaboration with ECDC.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us, communicable diseases do not respect borders. UKHSA firmly believes that health security collaboration with our international partners is imperative to protect all our citizens.
