Fragmented biological-risk reporting across IHR, BWC, and UNSCR 1540

RAND
RAND
1m ago
A RAND report develops a 47-indicator framework to harmonise biological-risk reporting across the IHR, BWC, and UNSCR 1540 and recommends coordination and interoperability steps to reduce gaps and burden.
Fragmented biological-risk reporting across IHR, BWC, and UNSCR 1540
A What happened
Biological-risk reporting is fragmented across the International Health Regulations, the Biological Weapons Convention, and UN Security Council Resolution 1540, which can obscure situational awareness, increase administrative burden, and delay coordinated action during outbreaks. The report inductively coded 668 reporting items from IHR tools, BWC confidence-building measures, and UNSCR 1540 matrices and consolidated them into the Framework for Unified Security against Epidemics (FUSE) with 47 indicators across seven domains. About two-thirds of the harmonised indicators appear in multiple regimes, but only a small subset reflects redundant reporting, mainly in legislation, biosafety oversight, and transfer controls. The report recommends national coordination units, light-touch interoperability between secretariats, donor alignment around shared indicators, investment in tools and capacity, and pilots of integrated reporting models.

Key insights

  • 1

    Early biological-threat signals can be indistinguishable across causes: Biological threats that are naturally emerging, accidental, or deliberate can produce early signals that are often indistinguishable from one another.

  • 2

    No single regime provides end-to-end visibility: IHR, BWC, and UNSCR 1540 each cover different parts of biological risk, and the report states that no single instrument provides end-to-end visibility.

  • 3

    Redundant reporting can worsen inequity: The report states that low-income states disproportionately bear the cost of redundant reporting, which can divert scarce expertise away from preparedness activities and hinder access to financing.

Takeaways

FUSE proposes 47 shared indicators and coordination measures to streamline biological-risk reporting across IHR, BWC, and UNSCR 1540 while addressing gaps, duplication, and inequities.

Topics

Health & Medicine Public Health World & Politics Policy & Regulation International Affairs Security & Defense

Read the full article on RAND

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