WHO works through a network of collaborating centers comprising research institutes, faculties or departments in universities, government departments and centers of excellence to fulfill its mandate for advancing evidence informed guidance and country impact. Currently there are over 800 WHO collaborating centres in over 80 Member States working with WHO working on areas such as nursing, occupational health, communicable diseases, nutrition, mental health, chronic diseases and health technologies.
Based at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, ADVANCE-ID is Singapore’s 13th WHO collaborating centre and joins a global network of institutions designated to support WHO's mandate. ADVANCE-ID will support WHO’s global health programmes and strategic priorities with a specific focus on advancing high quality, ethically sound, clinical research with a focus on clinical trials, strengthening clinical trial ecosystems and fostering partnerships across countries.
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Official launch of ADVANCE-ID designation as WHO collaborating centre. Credit: Temasek Foundation
The designation for ADVANCE-ID comes at a time when countries are increasingly recognizing the importance of strong clinical research systems, including for clinical trials, in responding to public health emergencies, emerging infectious diseases and other health challenges.
“Clinical trials generate the evidence that improves patient care, informs policy and ensures new medicines and vaccines are safe and effective. Just as importantly, they build national research capacity, which requires skilled researchers, stronger infrastructure, and collaboration across institutions. Countries with robust clinical research capabilities are far better prepared to respond to emerging health challenges and public health emergencies,” said Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Representative to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore at the formal designation ceremony.
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Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe speaking at the designation ceremony. Credit Dr Kushlani
In its work with WHO, ADVANCE-ID will contribute to building strong and needs based clinical trial ecosystems globally and particularly in the Western Pacific Region - promoting high quality, ethically sound trials. This includes ensuring strong trial design and standards, accelerating the generation of scientific evidence, supporting ethical inclusion of underrepresented groups[DM2.1], and promoting collaboration including public engagement. Through its work, ADVANCE-ID is expected to support countries in developing stronger clinical research environments that can respond more effectively to current and future health threats.
The work of ADVANCE-ID aligns with the World Health Assembly 2022 resolution WHA75.8, which highlights the important role of clinical trials in improving access to safe and effective medical products and calls for greater equity in clinical trial capacity, participation and benefits across countries. It will support the implementation of the WHO Guidance for best practices for clinical trials and global action plan for clinical trial ecosystem strengthening.
Congratulating the network on its designation, Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe expressed confidence that the new WHO collaborating centre will play an important role in expanding collaboration and knowledge-sharing across countries, helping to advance health system resilience and universal health coverage.
“WHO looks forward to continuing our collaboration on strengthening capabilities for the prioritization, conduct, oversight and use of ethically sound and scientifically rigorous clinical trials across countries of the world, but especially in the Western Pacific Region,” he said.