The Collaboratory Core Team is organizing a Dengue Modelling Meeting from 19-21 November 2024, at the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin, Germany.
Background
Dengue poses a significant public health threat in many parts of the world, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. The increasing incidence and geographic spread of dengue necessitate robust predictive models to inform public health preparedness and response.
Dengue modelers face several significant challenges in their work. One primary issue is the variability in data availability and quality, which can skew model outputs and reduce their reliability. Data sources often differ in resolution, timeliness, and accuracy, particularly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries where dengue burden is often highest. Moreover, the dynamic nature of dengue transmission, driven by environmental, ecological, and social factors, adds complexity to modeling efforts. These challenges are compounded by the diversity in modeling approaches, which range from statistical models to more complex mechanistic and agent-based models. The lack of standardized methodologies and validation protocols further hinders the comparison and integration of different models, limiting their utility in real-world applications and interpretation for policy and response decision making.
A connected and collaborative global dengue modeling community is critical to overcoming these challenges. Sharing knowledge, tools, methodologies and data across borders and disciplines can enhance model robustness and relevance, as pooling resources allows for the development of more fit for purpose models that incorporate a wider range of variables.
Primary objectives
- Bring together modelers focused on dengue and other arboviruses from around the globe to form an ongoing Dengue Analytics Community of Practice.
- Share methodologies used, best practices and explore areas for collaboration among the global dengue analytics community
- Explore the modelling questions being asked at global, regional and local levels and understand the use of parameters and contextual data for different contexts and methodologies
Kindly note that during the registration process, we will request you to provide some personal data, including a copy of your passport and your photo. This information will be required to complete travel and visa arrangements on your behalf. Also, upon your arrival in Berlin, we will issue a WHO badge which will allow you to access the WHO premises during the event.
For WHO-sponsored participants, WHO will provide the per-diem for Berlin to cover your hotel and meal expenses (all-inclusive). In addition, we will arrange the flight booking through our travel agent. In case your banking details are not already with us, please provide them in the registration form.
We will share further details in due course but in the meantime wish to request you to save the date and complete the registration.