Wellcome Trust release statement urging for increased sharing of research data and findings related the novel coronavirus outbreak
The Wellcome Trust has released a statement calling on researchers, journals and funders to ensure that research findings and data relevant to the novel coronavirus (nCoV) are openly shared to inform the public health response and help to save lives.
The statement reaffirms Wellcome’s ”commitment to the principles set out in the 2016 Statement on data sharing in public health emergencies, and will seek to ensure that the World Health Organization (WHO) has rapid access to emerging findings that could aid the global response.”
The Wellcome Trust further commit ”to apply the principles of this statement to similar outbreaks in the future where there is a significant public health benefit to ensuring data is shared widely and rapidly.” This statement, coming a few days after the Trust pledged £10 million to help tackle the epidemic, is in line with the organisation’s support for open research and open data, through which they aim to make research more accessible, and amplify impact.
The Trust is not the only EFC member acting in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak with the Gates Foundation also committing funding to the global response.