Transforming Public Health Surveillance Through Open Public Health Information

ObjectiveThe goal of this editorial is to shed light on the lack of transparency that exists in the sharing of Public Health data and to reverse this presumption in favour of open public health information properly vetted and openly accessible. Open public health information is a critical step to revitalize public health practice and is a human right.IntroductionPublic health practice that prevents, detects, and responds to communicable and noncommunicable disease threats is hindered by poor access to public health data and information. This includes timely sharing of case-based information, respecting patent and publication rights, and the ethical sharing of specimens. Disagreements about information shared and under what circumstances plus who has right to the data, clinical specimens, and their derivative products impede research and countermeasures. Delayed or inaction by public health authorities undermines trust and exacerbates the crisis. Evident in 2014 by the delayed Public Health Emergency of International Concern declaration of the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa by the World Health Organization, the governing presumption is that access to public health information s