Implementation context

Why Luxembourg is modernising disease surveillance

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for epidemiological surveillance capable to detect health signals quickly, analyze them in a coordinated way, and support decisions based on reliable data. In Luxembourg, as elsewhere, a key challenge is moving from a set of still partly fragmented systems and information flows to a more integrated and more responsive model, better aligned with European and international requirements. These requirements are set out in particular in EU Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on serious cross-border threats to health and in the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations, amended in 2024 in the wake of the pandemic.

The PHRESH project (Public Health Rapid Epidemiological Surveillance Hub) enables this transformation. Building on lessons learned from recent crises and the findings of two national surveillance audits, PHRESH seeks to modernize infectious disease surveillance in Luxembourg by digitizing, connecting, and speeding up public health data flows. It strengthens the country’s capacity to spot health signals early, produce exploitable information, and support swift, coordinated decisions in line with European and international frameworks.

A project supported by the EU4Health programme

PHRESH is co-funded by the European Union under the EU4Health programme, through the call EU4H-2023-DGA-MS-IBA-01. This funding helps Member States strengthening their preparedness, surveillance, and response capacities for cross-border health threats, in line with European health-security priorities