Event highlights
14 March 2024
Strategy and action plan on health emergency preparedness, response, and resilience (Preparedness 2.0): Fifth meeting of the Technical Advisory Group
The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on the development of the Strategy and action plan on health emergency preparedness, response, and resilience in the WHO European Region (Preparedness 2.0) gathered virtually for its fifth meeting on 26–27 February 2024, at which time the Zero draft of Preparedness 2.0 was discussed.
“We are in a moment of opportunity for strengthening health emergency prevention, preparedness and response capacities across the world and across the Pan-European Region,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “From the processes we have so far, I would like to commend Member States’ commitment and ongoing hard work on strengthening the global health security architecture for a safer tomorrow, with the outcomes of many important global processes, including the Working Group on amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) and the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on the new instrument for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response negotiations, to be presented to the 77th World Health Assembly in May. Preparedness 2.0 will support Member States in ensuring alignment between the regional and global processes, and will serve to support the implementation of the outcomes of these processes in the WHO European Region context, without any delay.”
“Preparedness 2.0 is aimed to function as an umbrella strategy and action plan for the host of new tools, products, and initiatives and to consolidate available approaches within the organization in order to support implementation. With many thanks to the TAG members, WHO technical teams, and the Preparedness 2.0 Secretariat, we now have the Zero draft of Preparedness 2.0 strategy and action plan to work off,” continued Dr Gundo Weiler, WHO acting Regional Emergency Director.
“Failure of the implementation of Preparedness 2.0 cannot be an option as our populations need it. We have a golden opportunity here to do something very special across the WHO European Region: to put our populations, their health needs and problems at the centre of this new strategy, to solve the problems and address their needs together,” highlighted Dr Gail Carson, Preparedness 2.0 TAG Chair.
During the meeting, Dr Kluge also highly appreciated the close and direct collaboration between the secretariats of the Preparedness 2.0 TAG and the Pan-European Network of Disease Control (NDC) as a way to ensure the implementation of Preparedness 2.0 at the national level.
The next steps include the start of a series of consultations with WHO European Region Member States on the first draft of Preparedness 2.0, which will also be complemented by information sessions for civil society, non-state actors, and partners to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are given the opportunity to provide advice on the content and processes of Preparedness 2.0.
For more information, please contact eurocpi@who.int.
Event notice
26 February 2024
Scope and purpose
The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Preparedness 2.0 was created to advise the WHO Regional Office for Europe on the development of the Preparedness 2.0 strategy and action plan on health emergency preparedness, response, and resilience in the WHO European Region. Its members, who reflect the diversity of the Region and represent different genders, ages and disciplinary backgrounds, were appointed by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, in June 2023, following a series of open calls for experts in March–May 2023.
Overall, the aim of the Preparedness 2.0 TAG is to provide expert recommendations to the WHO European Region Member States in the development of a new regional strategy and action plan on the strengthening of health emergency preparedness, response, and resilience for the 74th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in 2024.
This fifth meeting of the Preparedness 2.0 TAG is an opportunity for the TAG to see a first draft of the working document that will become the Preparedness 2.0 strategy and action plan. The content related to each of the Cs of health emergency preparedness, response and resilience (collaborative surveillance, community protection, safe and scalable care, access to countermeasures, and emergency coordination), produced by each of the thematic working groups of the TAG, will be brought together, with input from the WHO Secretariat, to form a comprehensive draft. The meeting will also be an opportunity to consider best practice examples from Member States to align with the recommendations in Preparedness 2.0, and to evaluate in depth the tools that will accompany the strategy and action plan to support its implementation.
Expected outcomes
- advice and feedback on ideas for the substantive content of the Preparedness 2.0 strategy and action plan; and
- advice and feedback on the tools for supporting the implementation of the Preparedness 2.0 strategy and action plan.