Behaviours, health and resilience are central themes in the newly designated WHO Collaborating Centre on Behavioural Science for Health Emergency Preparedness and Resilience. The Department of Behaviour and Health at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment of the Netherlands will lead this work, supporting the World Health Organization’s efforts to better understand and integrate behavioural perspectives into health policy and emergency planning. The designation reflects growing recognition that effective health systems must account for how people think, act and respond in both routine and crisis situations.
Human behaviour plays a decisive role in addressing some of the most pressing health challenges, including hypertension, obesity and cancer. During health emergencies, behaviour becomes even more critical, whether through hand hygiene, vaccination uptake, isolation of infectious patients or adherence to safety protocols. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the complexity of behavioural dynamics, showing how individual decisions, community norms and health system practices interact within broader legal, social and policy contexts. These experiences highlighted the need for stronger integration of behavioural science into public health responses.
Collaboration between WHO/Europe and the Dutch institute began in 2020 amid the pandemic, when both recognised the importance of incorporating behavioural science into crisis management. This led to the establishment of a WHO Behavioural and Cultural Insights Unit to support countries in applying evidence-based, people-centred and culturally grounded approaches to health behaviours. More recently, a Community Resilience and Protection Unit was created within WHO to strengthen preparedness and response capacity across the region. The new Collaborating Centre will contribute by gathering and sharing evidence, supporting capacity building and facilitating knowledge exchange among Member States.
The Centre will focus on maintaining a strong evidence base on behaviours linked to preparedness and resilience, collecting data across countries and helping national authorities develop the skills and tools needed to apply behavioural insights effectively. Establishing behavioural baselines will also enable better comparison and response during future emergencies. WHO officials have emphasized that behavioural science remains underutilized despite its vital role in public health, noting that successful emergency management depends on whether people trust authorities and act on protective measures.
The creation of the Collaborating Centre aligns with commitments made by Member States in recent years. In 2022, countries in the European Region endorsed a resolution promoting the use of behavioural and cultural insights for equitable health. In 2023, they approved a further resolution to advance the Preparedness 2.0 strategy aimed at strengthening emergency preparedness, response and resilience. Together, these developments signal a shift toward embedding behavioural science at the core of health systems, ensuring that future policies and emergency responses are both evidence-driven and people-centred.
