L'objectif principal est de transformer ces centres en un réseau interconnecté de capacités plutôt qu'en pôles d'excellence isolés. Trois axes majeurs sont proposés : l'adoption de programmes de travail durables alignés sur les priorités mondiales, un partenariat technique avec l'Académie de l'OMS pour diffuser des formations à grande échelle, et le renforcement de la littératie en santé. Cette approche vise à restaurer la confiance envers la science et à mieux préparer les systèmes éducatifs et sanitaires face aux crises futures. En somme, le document plaide pour une coopération internationale plus structurée afin de garantir un impact durable sur la santé publique mondiale.
Forum mondial des centres collaborateurs de l’OMS, Lyon
Du 7 au 9 avril 2026, Lyon accueille le premier Forum mondial des centres collaborateurs de l’OMS, sur le thème « collaborer pour un avenir en meilleure santé », en marge du One Health Summit et avec la participation de plusieurs centaines d’institutions issues de plus de 80 pays. Ce Forum vise à renforcer la contribution scientifique et technique de ces centres au Quatorzième programme général de travail de l’OMS et à l’agenda « Santé pour tous ».
Lors d’une session dédiée au rôle des centres collaborateurs, le directeur régional de l’OMS pour l’Europe, Hans Kluge, et Didier Jourdan, responsable du centre collaborateur FR135 et titulaire de la Chaire UNESCO Global Health & Education, sont intervenus conjointement. Hans Kluge a posé le cadre stratégique pour la Région européenne, insistant sur la nécessité de réseaux solides de centres collaborateurs pour soutenir les pays dans un contexte de crises multiples.
Didier Jourdan a illustré ce cadre à partir de l’expérience des centres collaborateurs OMS, en mettant en avant trois évolutions clés pour le réseau : passer d’actions dispersées à de véritables programmes de travail alignés sur l’EPW2 et le GPW 14, renforcer l’articulation avec l’Académie de l’OMS pour diffuser à grande échelle des formations fondées sur les données probantes, et utiliser l’éducation et la littératie en santé comme réponse structurelle à la crise de confiance envers la science et les institutions. Ensemble, ils ont défendu l’idée de centres collaborateurs conçus non seulement comme « centres d’excellence », mais comme « centres de capacités » interconnectés, au service des systèmes éducatifs, des professionnels de santé et des communautés....
Presentation of Pr. Didier Jourdan
Speaking from the perspective of FR135 – the WHO Collaborating Centre and UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education platform – I would like to illustrate what means a futureready network of collaborating centres in practice through three very concrete shifts for the CCs and CCs network.
First, moving from projects to programmes of work, aligned with EPW2 and GPW14.
From where we stand, in the prevention of diseases, education and health promotion field, the real value of a collaborating centre is not a series of isolated projects, but a clear mandate on core public health functions directly connected to WHO core mandate.
For example, in our CC, we work as a mission-driven platform on the capacity of education systems to: prevent NCDs and promote mental health in children and young people, reduce health inequities early in life, and strengthen social and educational resilience in crises – all of which are central priorities in EPW2.
For the European CC network, this means that each centre should be explicitly positioned on a portfolio of functions – for example, lifelong learning for health in cities, school health and health-promoting schools, behavioural and cultural insights, One Health, digital public health, or primary care – rather than on a fragmented list of activities, with shared outcomes in terms of equity, essential public health functions and country impact.
In a context where the real test for public health is longterm impact and sustainability, collaborating centres must be designed not for short cycles of activity, but for building enduring capacities that outlast projects and mandates. We can see this in practice through our contribution to the Schools for Health in Europe network: by codeveloping frameworks, tools and training for healthpromoting schools policies in member states, we help countries embed health promotion into the longterm functioning of their public health and education systems, rather than as a temporary programme.
Second, systematically connecting CCs with the WHO Academy to deliver scale.
As Hans underlined, the WHO Academy is a major asset. From a technical point of view, this changes the equation.
Our CC positions itself as a producer of evidence-based training content and pedagogical models on health promotion, health literacy, and intersectoral training for health care professionals, educators, social workers… We also bring specific expertise in microlearning in lowincome settings, using lowtech digital tools to support community health workers, nurses, homecare workers and other frontline professionals with short, practiceoriented learning modules that can be accessed even in constrained environments.
We are already working with the Academy to turn this expertise into modular, multilingual and adaptable training packages (we are working at the time on a course of lifelong learning for health in cities). This allows us to support countries where public health and health education training capacities have been weakened by conflict, economic crisis or institutional reforms.
It is an illusion to think that a centralised academy alone can meet the learning needs of health professionals everywhere. The only effective model is a close partnership: national and regional collaborating centres, firmly rooted in Member States, working with the WHO Academy to translate global standards into relevant, actionable training. For the Academy, strong articulation with CCs is not optional, it is an operational imperative.
In other words, a strategically organized network of CCs, plugged into the Academy, can function as a permanent training infrastructure for the world – accessible even when national pipelines for technical expertise and workforce development are disrupted.
Third, using education and health literacy as a structural response to the crisis of trust.
The foresight work for this Forum has shown how misinformation, changing information ecosystems and new technologies are reshaping our relationship with science.
As a joint WHO–UNESCO centre, our starting point is that trust cannot be treated only through communication campaigns. It requires longterm investment in the capacity of children, adolescents, adults, settings and communities to make sense of information, to debate, and to participate in decisions that affect their health.
Operationally, our CC works with formal education systems (schools and universities), nonformal settings (associations, NGOs, community programmes, women’s literacy initiatives) and informal environments (communities, social networks, digital platforms) in several countries to integrate health promotion, health literacy and media and information literacy into curricula, in-service training, communitybased learning spaces…
If we scale this up through a coordinated CC network, we can offer WHO and Member States regional public goods – shared frameworks, tools and training offers – that are transferable to other Regions, including those where institutions are fragile and trust in multilateralism is under pressure.
This is a very concrete way to “protect multilateralism through science”: by investing in the educational capacities that make societies more able to understand evidence, to engage with norms and standards, and to use health as a bridge for peace.
In short: in an age of mistrust, our best answer is simple – credible norms and standards, strong networks, and collaborating centres that turn both into practice.
Let me end with one simple idea.
If we want a futureready network of collaborating centres, we should stop thinking of CCs only as “centres of excellence” and start organizing them as “centres of capacity” – connected to each other, connected to the WHO Academy, and connected to classrooms and communities where the next generation of public health resilience is actually being built.