Well-trained first contact health workers are cornerstones of strong integrated health services to provide timely, quality care. Basic emergency care (BEC) teaches a systematic approach to the initial assessment and management of time-sensitive critical conditions where early intervention saves live...s.
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As the United Nations’ public health agency, WHO has an important role to play in the global public health response to events involving the possible deliberate use of biological and chemical hazards against a human population.
Go.Data is a software for contact tracing and data collection in outbreak response developed by WHO in collaboration with partners in the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). Go.Data focuses on case and contact data, including laboratory data, and on contact follow-up and visualizatio...n of chains of transmission.
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This channel offers videos designed to strengthen the logistics and supply chain preparedness of the National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) for effective response during health emergencies such as pandemics, epidemics, and other health crises. Tailore...d for NPHI professionals involved in procurement, laboratory management, and emergency planning, the course provides a comprehensive, modular framework focused on building resilient systems and capabilities.
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This series of videos provides a high-level overview for decision-makers and technical experts from governments and key stakeholders or partners involved in Readiness Contingency Planning (RCP) and implementation. RCP is part of a cycle in which the identification and regular monitoring of risks, vu...lnerabilities and capabilities inform the planning and implementation of measures to mitigate the risks and to get ready to respond to high-priority risks or imminent health emergencies.
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The Country COVID-19 Intra-Action Review (IAR) is a facilitated process that brings together COVID-19 responders from multiple sectors for experience sharing and collective learning, and it has been modelled after the WHO After Action Review (AAR) methodology.
A Joint External Evaluation (JEE) is an essential component of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (IHR MEF). The process involves a self-assessment by the country, followed by an evaluation conducted by an independent JEE team using a standardized tool. Th...is tool assesses 19 technical areas across four domains: prevention, detection, response, and other hazards and points of entry.
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This is an online orientation to strengthen the competencies of health sector actors working in emergencies to establish, support and scale up Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in countries. The focus of this channel is on how to apply existing practical, evidence-based, scalable tools ...and practice-led approaches for successful implementation of projects to strengthen MHPSS in emergencies operations, protection from mental health and psychosocial consequences of crises and towards the realization of universal mental health coverage.
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This introductory level channel provides a general overview of the National Action Planning for Health Security (NAPHS) process and methodology. This includes the critical steps necessary to support the development, implementation and monitoring of 5-year strategic NAPHS as well as 12/24 month opera...tional NAPHS.
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Civil-military collaboration can play a unique and powerful role in strengthening health emergency preparedness through its various capacities and capabilities such as logistical support, medical and public health expertise, clinical facilities and coordination.
We are pleased to offer the NCD kit online training course for emergency managers and technical staff in emergencies to ensure rapid, adequate and cost-effective use of the existing Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) kit in emergency health operations to reduce the vulnerability of affected communities a...nd address their priority health needs. The NCD kit is a pre-packed set of essential medicines and medical devices to meet priority noncommunicable disease (NCD) needs of an outreach population of 10 000 people for three months in emergencies, when medical facilities and regular supply has been disrupted. The training aims to assist all those involved in leading and coordinating health emergency operations, assessing the needs, planning for supplying, implementing and monitoring the continuity of essential NCD services at all levels of emergency management.
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Parliaments and parliamentarians play a unique and powerful role in achieving health security preparedness through their various responsibilities: law-making, oversight, budgetary allocation, and citizen representation. High-level reviews of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the impor...tance of state capacity, social trust, and leadership when it comes to health emergency preparedness. Parliaments and parliamentarians are extremely well positioned to support, build, and strengthen these three aspects.
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Prevention of and Response to Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PRSEAH) is a core action to be implemented as a part of WHO’s mandate in the countries in which it has activated the incident management system.
A Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) is a physical location for the coordination of information and resources to support incident management activities. PHEOCs are also referred to as “operations centres”, “situation rooms” and “command centres”. Experience has shown that ...timely implementation of a PHEOC provides an essential platform for the management of public health emergencies and can help avoid common failings such as lack of clear leadership leading to delayed decision making, mismanagement of resources and poor coordination.
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Ready4Response is a multi-tiered core curriculum that aims to develop consistent learning standards across the emergency response workforces at national level. It equips participants with essential competencies needed to work within public health emergency response.
Communities are at the heart of every response. Effective risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) supports communities and individuals in understanding the risks they face and making informed decisions about how to protect themselves and the people around them. Accurate information, provi...ded to communities in ways they understand and respect, builds trust and supports the success of prevention, response and recovery efforts.
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This channel is an introduction to simulation exercises and their value as part of wider emergency preparedness to raise awareness among a non-technical audience.
This channel offers learning resources for strategic health operations, including Ebola and Marburg diseases screening and treatment center design, ultra-low temperature vaccine management and WHO Mobile Very Small Aperture Terminal installation.
This channel aims to provide high-level information and contextual understanding of WHO Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Emergencies. It explores a range of topics, from the Emergency Response Framework, to planning, grants and finance, procurement, risk management, rosters and deployment, a...nd ethics.
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The document provides a standardized protocol for evaluating the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN), a surveillance system used during humanitarian emergencies when regular national health surveillance may be disrupted. The purpose of EWARN is to detect outbreaks of communicable diseas...es early and enable rapid public health response. The guidance explains how the system should be assessed in terms of its structure, implementation, effectiveness, and usefulness. It outlines the key steps of evaluation: preparation, system description, data collection, and post-evaluation reporting. The protocol highlights common challenges observed in previous EWARN implementations, such as delays in establishing the system, limited data quality, weak outbreak response, and lack of clear transition plans back to routine surveillance systems. It emphasizes the need to evaluate both weekly disease reporting and alert verification processes, and to review attributes such as simplicity, data quality, timeliness, sensitivity, and stability. The document also provides templates for interviews, data review forms, and laboratory assessment, as well as guidance on conducting remote evaluations when access is limited. The overall goal of the protocol is to ensure that EWARN functions effectively to detect and respond to outbreaks and that practical recommendations are developed to improve the system’s performance and sustainability in emergency settings.
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