Leading Through Uncertainty: Preparing Future Public Health Leaders in an Uncertain World

The public health workforce was largely built for a world in which emergencies were episodic, information moved slowly, and analytic capabilities were limited. The assumptions, institutions, and norms that underpinned public health for much of the last century are now being challenged, as emerging infectious diseases, climate-related disasters, and rapidly spreading mis- and disinformation reshape risk in real time. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence, digital public health tools, and disease modelling are creating unprecedented opportunities to move from crisis response to continuous preparedness and resilience.

These shifts demand that training for future public health leaders evolve to equip them for these new realities and enable them to leverage innovation responsibly. Preparing the workforce for this landscape is essential to building resilient health systems capable of anticipating, responding to, and recovering from health threats.

This session will examine how public health training must change to prepare leaders to use AI-enabled decision support, digital surveillance platforms, and advanced modeling tools that are reshaping health security practice. Panelists from multilateral institutions, national governments, and academia will explore cross-sector partnerships needed to equip the next generation of public health professionals to operate in a state of continuous readiness and to anticipate, respond to, and recover from increasingly complex global health threats.