Inter-Sectoral Preparedness and Response Planning Essentials – a round up of SHARP Joint Action work package 6 deliverables

In March 2023, work package 6 lead – the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment/ Centre for Infectious Disease Control (RIVM) – provided a workshop hosted by the State Emergency Medical Service (SEMS), Latvia. 

Over two days, an audience of health protection specialists and policymakers from across 13 countries received presentations from experts in preparedness and response.  They enjoyed a comprehensive outline of the principles, advantages and best practices in multi-sectoral planning and how to implement them in national preparedness and response plans.

Bettie Voordouw, medical microbiologist within the RIVM, comments, “Seventeen of the workshop’s participants were public health emergency preparedness and response experts, with involvement in designing and/or modifying preparedness and response plans.  Importantly, five contributors described their role as policy advisor.  These people will be key in delivering the impact of our four years of work, taking decisions on the take-up and use of results, for example in policymaking or practice improvements.  There were valuable contributions from all, and  88% of the participants reported a knowledge gain on how to implement the WP6 deliverables into their national preparedness and response plans.”

Significantly,  this insight and guidance is useful to any country working to improve its capacity in multi-sectoral, all hazards preparedness and planning.  This is necessary to meet the demands of the regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on serious cross-border threats (SCBT) which came into effect in November 2022.

Click on the links to view a video of each presentation and transcript.

• WELCOME:  Corien Swaan, Principal Expert pandemic preparedness, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment/ Centre for Infectious Disease Control (RIVM), Netherlands and Aiga Balode, Deputy State Secretary, The Ministry for Health of the Republic of Latvia
• THE ROLE OF HEALTHCARE IN PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY (PHEPR):  Dita Heiberga, Director of the Center for Disaster Medicine of the State Emergency Medical Service of Latvia
• PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE PLANNING IN THE CONTEXT OF SHARP JOINT ACTION:  Outi Karvonen, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
• THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY IN PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE:  Stephanie Wiessenhaan, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), Netherlands  and  Kaspars Druvaskalns, Secretariat of the Crisis Management Council of the Republic of Latvia
• PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND THE CITIZEN’S ROLE DURING PHEPR:  Sophie Kemper & Sandra Kamga, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment/ Centre for Infectious Disease Control (RIVM), Netherlands
• LITERATURE REVIEW ON LESSONS LEARNT DURING RECENT THREATS:  María del Carmen Varela Martínez, Instituto de Salud Carlos III
• IDENTIFYING THE SECTORS INVOLVED IN EUROPEAN PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW:  Sandra Kamga, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment/ Centre for Infectious Disease Control (RIVM), Netherlands
• WHICH SECTORS SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY: A RAND MODIFIED CONSENSUS PROCEDURE AMONG EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRY EXPERTS:  Sandra Kamga, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment/ Centre for Infectious Disease Control (RIVM), Netherlands
• THE ROLE OF DIAGNOSTIC EXPERTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE (PHEPR): Zsófia Iglói, Researcher and Diagnostic Expert from the Erasmus Medical Center.
• CAN COORDINATION PLAY A ROLE IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE DIFFERENCES IN SARS-COV-2 TESTING STRATEGIES ACROSS EUROPE?:  Sandra Kamga, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment/ Centre for Infectious Disease Control (RIVM), Netherlands
• THE APPROACH TO INTEGRATING THE WORK OF SHARP JOINT ACTION IN NATIONAL POLICIES AND SUSTAINING IN LINE WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EU PREVENTION, PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE PLAN:  François Esmyot, Advisor for International Affairs at the French Ministry of Solidarities and Health

Learn more of the work in preparedness and response planning from work package 6.