Collaboration
At the time WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) for SARS-CoV-2, the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Bioethics was a well-
established and productive network with a strong record of collaboration with WHO and each other. The network was established in 2009 and currently has 12 collaborating centres spread
across all WHO regions. 
By early 2020, it was an experienced and well-functioning network with strong record in the development of WHO ethics guidance, including major contributions to emergency response and preparedness work in ethics prior to COVID-19. The network was well positioned to understand WHO’s role in emergency response, the ethical issues arising in epidemics, existing tools available and how these would need to be adapted to the emerging challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Network members are embedded in the global, regional and national ethics communities. They advise their own national agencies in the ethical challenges governments face during public health emergencies, including resource allocation, research ethics oversight, use of digital tools for surveillance, vaccination mandates, and are active in regional ethics bodies.
Network members were, therefore, best placed to provide rapid advice to the WHO Global Health Ethics team that allowed them to prioritize its work.
Contributions
The network made a decisive contribution to WHO’s rapid response in addressing many ethical issues that arose during COVID-19.
With assistance from the network, WHO’s Global Health Ethics team was able to identify and address key gaps in normative guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic to assist Member States. It was also able to support WHO colleagues from other technical teams with advice on ethical issues that arose in their work.
The ethical dilemmas faced by the global health community during the pandemic were intense and many. The network was vital to WHO’s ethics response to the pandemic precisely because it was experienced, diverse, well-connected and agile. WHO was able to quickly mobilise ethics expertise it needed as a result.
The WHO Global Health Ethics team was small, but effective and productive during the PHEIC thanks in large part to the contributions of the Bioethics Collaborating Centres Network.
NNetwork members served as the backbone of both the WHO Ethics COVID-19 Expert Group and the ACT-Accelerator Ethics & Governance Working Group, contributing countless time and effort and delivering work under tight turnaround times.
With help from the network, these working groups developed numerous WHO normative products and published about their work in external peer-reviewed journals. 
Knowledge transfer
The institutions that form the network were able to share and learn from each other’s COVID‑19 experiences. They shared strategies for handling similar challenges in their own countries, which strengthened mutual understanding and practical problem‑solving.
The collaboration also built capacity by deepening bilateral cooperation within the network and created a strong working relationship between members, the WHO Global Health Ethics team and regional focal points.
This collaboration also reinforced the value of digital tools, showing how they enable the group to mobilise quickly and work collaboratively on future projects.
As the network moves forward, it is now even stronger and better prepared to support WHO during the next health emergency.