In 2023, the UCSF Center for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (CPPR) announced two key leadership hires: Kelly Taylor, PhDMS, MPH, as director of the domestic portfolio and Wanjiru Waruiru, MBA, MPH, as the director of the global portfolio, based in Kenya. In early 2024, Taylor became the director of CPPR. At a time when much of the world is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor and Waruiru are charged with expanding CPPR’s programming in public health preparedness, pandemic response and global health security to help the world prepare for the next pandemic threat. Taylor and Waruiru both have backgrounds in infectious disease research within IGHS. Taylor was previously a member of the UCSF Pandemic for Equity and Action (UPIEA) team and is a faculty member in the Division of Prevention Science. Waruiru served as the director of strategic information at the UCSF Global Programs office in Kenya. Both also come to CPPR with new strategies for disease surveillance and centering equity within the framework of pandemic response. We sat down with both to discuss their thoughts on pandemic preparedness, emerging threats and the importance of health equity.
Q & A with Kelly Taylor, PhDMS, MPH, director of CPPR
Q: What is your current role at CPPR?
A: I have a two-fold role. I am the director of CPPR, and as a part of that, I also currently lead the domestic portfolio. At the center level my role is to advance the mission of CPPR in three critical areas: capacity building and workforce development for pandemic response; data for public health impact, preparedness, and response; and policy shaping activities. My goal is to steer initiatives that train and expand the public health workforce in response to pandemics, foster robust partnerships to enhance surveillance and data systems and develop proactive approaches to managing pandemics and emerging threats. It is also critical to translate evidence into actionable policies at national and global level to ensure that health strategies are scientifically sound, aligned with local priorities and adequately resourced, thereby maximizing public health impact.
Q: What emerging pandemic threats is CPPR preparing for domestically?
A: We are closely watching avian influenza and other new and evolving influenza strains. We continue to monitor coronaviruses and other pathogens of concern that are re-emerging, like mpox. Other threats that impact disease transmission include climate change which increases the risk of vector-borne diseases. So when weather patterns change there are increased risk of insects that transmit disease. We remain vigilant about all potential threats as we have many examples, like COVID-19, that diseases do not respect borders.
Q: What are some other priorities of CPPR across the country?
A: Across the country we are prioritizing advancing health equity, developing partnerships, building the workforce, and making investments in disease surveillance and in data for pandemic planning so we are prepared to detect and immediately address emerging threats. We are also making investments in community engagement so that we can build trust and be better equipped to partner with communities and mitigate misinformation. We want to ensure we utilize the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and are not caught off guard.
Q: Why is health equity important in pandemic preparedness?
A: We saw during the COVID-19 pandemic that there was much inequality around who had access to vaccines, information, medication and treatment — and how that contributed to higher mortality among minoritized populations. A focus on health equity increases the odds that this will not happen again. From a social justice perspective, preparing for pandemics through a lens of health equity implores us to plan and respond so that we do not further entrench existing inequalities, but rather aim to diminish them. When we are guided by health equity, we know that the most successful interventions must be ideally community-led, targeted and tailored. We must allocate resources so that the communities most impacted will have equitable access to what are often scarce resources. When we fail the consequences are grave and lead to mistrust, distrust and hesitancy around public guidance which are not easily rectified. Integrating health equity into pandemic preparedness is not only a matter of justice but also a practical approach to ensuring effective and efficient public health responses that can save lives and mitigate the impact of pandemics.
Q & A with Wanjiru Waruiru, MBA, MPH, director of global portfolio at CPPR
Q: What is your current role at CPPR?
A: I work to create the building blocks for the center to ensure it meets strategic purpose in pandemic preparedness. That involves establishing regional partnerships, including with Ministries of Health and other research institutes. I also work on business development, building relationships with external funders, donors and foundations, and identifying funding sources for our work. It’s a unique space because pandemics are not routine. Often we experience a shock of adequate or even overwhelming funding, and then once the emergency subsides, we face sharp declines or shortage of funding for our work. I try to identify strategic pandemic-related work as well as funding opportunities that can allow us to continuously support global health systems to predict and prepare to respond to the next pandemic.
Q: Why is it important to have a regional hub for CPPR in East Africa?
A: Kenya has one of the biggest UCSF offices outside of San Francisco, and IGHS already had a presence here due to our work on the HIV epidemic. Kenya is a hub for business, technology, innovation and tourism. As such it was a natural place for CPPR to be based for our global work. Also, it’s important to have a physical presence where you plan to work; it shows that you are invested in developing relationships and collaborating on solutions.
Q: What are some of CPPR’s current global priorities?
A: We continue to build our networks of affiliations and strategic partnerships both domestically and globally. It is difficult to have eyes and boots on the ground everywhere. But with strategic partnerships, we leverage resources, different areas of expertise, geographical coverage and ultimately our efficiency and effectiveness. We are also focused on building capacity for laboratories, data and surveillance systems and health workforces in their abilities to prepare and respond to emerging health threats.
Q: Why is health equity important in pandemic preparedness?
A: Health equity is a confounding factor in how any pandemic will affect a community, a country or the world. We saw this in the COVID-19 pandemic where communities that had lower economic status, had sub-optimal access to health care services prior to the epidemic or came from traditionally marginalized communities were most impacted. This is no different in sub-Saharan Africa. COVID highlighted pre-existing health equity issues such as marginalized communities, lack of equipment at health facilities, shortage of health care workers, and the urban-rural divide. So, when preparing for the next pandemic, health equity must be the center of the conversation.