Ghana to Host Regional Simulation Exercise to Boost Outbreak Preparedness and Response Capacity

9 November 2024
World Health Organization Africa (Brazzaville)
press release

For Immediate release

Accra, Ghana - To strengthen regional readiness for infectious disease outbreaks, the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), Médicins sans frontières (MSF), and the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), will lead a comprehensive simulation exercise in Ghana from November 11 to 15, 2024. This joint initiative, with participation from Ghana and other selected African countries, will support capacities for public health emergency preparedness and response by deploying innovative rapid-response health facilities capable of effectively managing high-risk outbreaks.

This simulation exercise is part of two initiatives. INITIATE2, co-led by WHO and WFP, bringing together emergency actors, research and academic institutions and countries to design and develop innovative, standardized solutions to improve preparedness and response efforts to health and other humanitarian crises. The initiative also aims to train responders, including through simulation exercises, on the installation and use of these new solutions, contributing to their capacity to quickly kick off operations at the onset of an emergency.

Against the backdrop of over 100 public health emergencies every year, WHO, UNICEF and MSF have joined their expertise to develop a child friendly Health Emergency Facility (HEF), which can be rapidly deployed and equipped in the event of future disease outbreaks. HEF prevents disease outbreaks to become pandemics, potentially saving millions of lives.

Hosted at the Critical Care and Emergency Hospital, operated by the Ghana Armed Forces (formerly the UN COVID-19 field hospital), this full-scale simulation exercise will test the first solution developed within INITIATE2, an Infectious Disease Treatment Module (IDTM), and Health Emergency Facility (HEF) kits--state-of-the-art treatment and containment solutions developed to rapidly set up essential facilities in remote or crisis-affected areas. This takes away the need to transport individuals over long distances to treatment facilities, with increased risks of spreading the infections and is also aligned with the principle of containment-at-source.

Officials from health authorities in Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi and Uganda together with representatives from the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) will engage with 100 participants from over 20 partner organizations in a realistic Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) outbreak scenario, practicing critical patient care response skills for managing infectious diseases like Ebola and Marburg.

Key Objectives of the Simulation Exercise

  1. Strengthening Collaboration and Coordination: Building closer partnerships among health organizations, emergency responders, and military support teams.
  2. Hands-On Training with Innovative Solutions: Introducing participants to the IDTM and HEF kits, designed for rapid deployment, to test their practicality in various settings.
  3. Comprehensive Case Management: Conducting full patient journey demonstrations, from initial diagnosis and treatment to discharge or dignified care for non-survivors.

Media Invitation

Media representatives are invited to observe the opening ceremony on November 11, 2024. Additional opportunities to cover specific demonstration days, including the full outbreak response on November 13 and 14, will showcase key operational scenarios such as patient care, facility management, and rapid scaling of the IDTM and HEF kits.

This joint effort highlights WHO, UNICEF, WFP/UNHRD, MSF, and the Ghana Armed Forces' dedication to bolstering the region's public health resilience. The initiative is part of the broader commitment under the INITIATE2-HEF project, aimed at equipping countries with scalable, ready-to-deploy health facilities to meet urgent needs during health emergencies.

For media inquiries and interviews, please contact:

Abdul-Lahie Abdul-Rahim Naa

Communications Officer

World Health Organization Ghana

abdullahiea [at] who.int (abdullahiea[at]who[dot]int)

(+233)201962393

Fatma Naib

Chief, Advocacy and Communication,

UNICEF Ghana,

fnaib [at] unicef.org (fnaib[at]unicef[dot]org)

Read the original article on WHO-AFRO.

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