Dear colleagues, partners, supporters, and friends, 

The end of the year is approaching and, as most of us prepare to take a break, it is also a time for reflection. It is impossible to close the year ignoring the challenging times that we are living in in the international context. We, at the SORMAS Foundation, want to help inspire a little hope for a healthier and more peaceful world. 

As you may know, 2023 has been very special for us, as it was the first year of operation of the SORMAS Foundation, driven by our vision: A world in which all countries are prepared to respond to epidemics and pandemics digitally and collaboratively. 

During these months, we have completed the transition of the SORMAS responsibilities from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), including the migration of repositories and documentation, and we have hired our team members and started our first projects.  

It has been a busy period, with activities such as the launch of the SORMAS IGAD project and feasibility studies in the ECOWAS region in Cabo Verde, The Gambia and Ivory Coast. We have also closely worked with the ministry of health in Luxemburg for the adaptation of SORMAS to the country, which will soon be ready to go live.  

We have been able to contribute to our mission by participating in several meetings and events such as the Global Goods Innovators Summit, the High-level forum: Pandemics – no time for neglect, the ECOWAS regional digital surveillance workshop, and the Global Digital Health Forum, among others. 

During the past months, we have had the privilege of meeting members of the SORMAS community in person, and we have fostered the exchange and strengthened this community through the launch of our online community platform and our SORMAS Webinar series. We also very successfully organized the first SORMAS Conference, which demonstrated the growing interest in collaboration and knowledge sharing between countries.  

Finally, we would very much like to thank the supporters of the SORMAS Foundation that have made possible our work. We look forward to continuing our fruitful cooperation, and we invite you all to stay in touch with us and to participate in the exciting activities planned for next year.  

We wish you a healthy and peaceful holiday season and we hope to see you soon, in 2024! 

Yours sincerely, 

The SORMAS Foundation team