Caption: Participants of the WHO Technical Consultation in front of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, March 21, 2023 Credit: WHO/Damir Begovic
To develop infodemic management capacities for the future, WHO convened a technical consultation on building a global curriculum for infodemic management on 21-23 March in Belgrade, Serbia. Hosted by the School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, the consultation brought together 47 representatives of academia, public health and professional associations, and health authorities from six WHO regions.
Speaking about the importance of the moment, Stefan Mandić-Rajčević, coordinator of the Laboratory for infodemiology and infodemic management at the University of Belgrade, and coordinator of the Health Laboratory of the Media Education Centre noted:
“The Faculty of Medicine recognized the importance of infodemic management early on during the pandemic, and we have grown a network which allowed us to improve our response and reduce the harms of the infodemic in Serbia.” Rafaela Rosário from the University of Minho in Portugal echoed the significance of integrating infodemic management in teaching and training to prepare public health professionals for new pandemic threats: “infodemiology and Infodemic management are new skills in public health that will help us better respond to health threats in the future.”
