WHO R&D; Roadmap for Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever: update, launch and stakeholder involvement

As part of the WHO research and product development (R&D) Blueprint initiative for epidemic prone diseases, in 2018 the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) partnered with WHO to develop an R&D roadmap for Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever (CCHF). An advanced draft roadmap was produced that prioritised the development of those countermeasures – diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for human or animal use - that are most needed by CCHF-affected countries, and set the direction and timelines for future CCHF product R&D activities. Progress was then interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This proposal focuses on updating and launching the WHO R&D Roadmap for CCHF and supporting activities for its dissemination and early adoption. The knowledge landscape since 2018 will be reviewed, the priorities and timelines set in the draft CCHF roadmap revisited and updated and a finalised roadmap delivered to WHO for formal publication on their website. A companion publication will be submitted to an open-access scientific journal. After launch, a stakeholder event will raise awareness of the CCHF roadmap and identify R&D activities planned by stakeholders that align with the roadmap priorities, thus facilitating its early adoption. An additional objective is to update a comprehensive landscape analysis and make this openly available.