FOLKHALSOMYNDIGHETEN

Their core work

Folkhälsomyndigheten (the Public Health Agency of Sweden) is Sweden's national authority for public health, responsible for infectious disease surveillance, outbreak response, and health policy. In H2020, they contribute epidemiological expertise, laboratory capacity for highly pathogenic agents, and pandemic preparedness planning. They play a key role in European networks for disease control — from developing rapid bedside diagnostics for viral haemorrhagic fevers to coordinating vaccine development for emerging zoonotic diseases like Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever. Their work bridges laboratory science, field epidemiology, and public health policy at the national and European level.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015–2018, FOHM focused on building foundational capabilities: emerging disease risk assessment, health security frameworks, virus archives, and launching their first rapid diagnostics project for Ebola. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward applied tools and pandemic response — multiplex rapid detection platforms, COVID-19 surveillance networks, vaccine development, and digital pandemic preparedness systems. The COVID-19 pandemic clearly accelerated their pivot from preparedness planning to active response and tool deployment.

FOHM is moving from theoretical preparedness frameworks toward operational pandemic response capabilities — rapid diagnostics, vaccines, and real-time surveillance infrastructure — making them an increasingly valuable partner for applied health security projects.

How they like to work

FOHM operates primarily as an active partner (11 of 14 projects), but steps up to coordinate when the topic aligns tightly with their core diagnostic and vaccine expertise (3 projects as coordinator, all in VHF diagnostics or vaccines). With 190 unique partners across 43 countries, they are a well-connected hub in European health networks rather than a closed-circle collaborator. Their participation in large pan-European consortia (One Health EJP, EVA-GLOBAL, PANDEM-2) shows comfort working in complex multi-partner frameworks.

Extensively connected with 190 unique consortium partners across 43 countries, spanning public health agencies, research institutes, and BSL-4 laboratories across Europe and beyond. Their network is genuinely global, reflecting the transnational nature of infectious disease preparedness and response.

What sets them apart

FOHM combines the authority of a national public health agency with hands-on research capability in high-containment pathogens — a rare combination. Unlike academic partners who bring only research, FOHM can validate diagnostics and vaccines against real surveillance data and integrate results directly into national health policy. For consortium builders, this means a partner who can both do the science and ensure the outputs reach actual public health practice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CCHFVaccine
  Their largest project (EUR 2.3M) and a coordinator role — developing a vaccine for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, a priority pathogen with no approved vaccine globally.
• VHFMoDRAD
  Coordinated development of multiplex rapid bedside diagnostics for viral haemorrhagic fevers including Ebola, with twinning and capacity-building components for African partners.
• One Health EJP
  Major European Joint Programme connecting human health, animal health, and food safety across 44 partners — FOHM's entry point into cross-sectoral One Health approaches.