Event highlights
On 24–26 June 2025 WHO/Europe and the WHO Country Office in Ukraine successfully supported the Ministry of Health in conducting a strategic risk assessment workshop using methodology based on the WHO Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risks (STAR).
This workshop, implemented with financial support of the Federal Government of Germany and the European Union, focused on assessing the risk of 27 pre-identified hazards, including biological, hydrometeorological, technological, natural and human-caused hazards. It marked a key step towards achieving greater health security, one of the recommendations identified in the Joint External Evaluation from 2021 to improve the country’s capacities related to the International Health Regulations (2005).
A total of 61 participants from the Ministry of Health, the Public Health Center, oblast centres for disease control and more than 10 non-health sectors came together to discuss ways to mitigate the potential health consequences of hazards and to better prepare for future threats.
Together, they addressed the unique health challenges that Ukraine faces in the current context and expanded the original list of hazards to 30. Using the WHO STAR tool, which offers an all-hazards, evidence-based methodology, participants determined the risk level for each and discussed risk-informed programming.
This workshop lays the ground for more strategic, multisector emergency preparedness, readiness and response planning. The insights and discussions it generated across government sectors will play a critical role in updating national disaster and health emergency preparedness and response plans and agreeing on priority actions. The collaboration of experts from different sectors will help to ensure that national planning efforts are evidence-based and facilitated by knowledge-sharing and networking.
“These exercises catalyse actions to prevent, prepare for and reduce the level of risk associated with hazards and their health consequences. The National Strategic Risk Assessment is not just a technical exercise; it is an important step towards building a safer and more resilient health system here in Ukraine,” noted Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine.
The workshop successfully brought a variety of stakeholders around the table to prioritize risks and identify key actions to improve health emergency preparedness and response, paving the way for greater collaboration among national stakeholders.
Key takeaways include the definition of a National Risk Profile for Ukraine, which comprises a risk calendar, risk matrix, and a report that compiles initial short-, medium- and long-term prioritized action planning.
Event notice
The negative impacts of health emergencies and disasters on communities and countries continue to underscore the importance of an all-hazards risk management approach in emergency preparedness and response. Strategic risk assessment plays a critical role in this process, helping the health sector plan effectively and prioritize readiness actions.
Risk profiling is recognized as one of the core elements of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. WHO’s Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risks (STAR) is a methodology that enables public health authorities to rapidly conduct an evidence-based assessment of public health risks using an all-hazards, multisectoral and participatory approach.
Countries identify the hazards most likely to lead to health emergencies and trigger a coordinated health sector response, from infectious to environmental to societal hazards. STAR is then used to guide risk-informed programming to prevent, prepare for and reduce the level of risk associated with a particular health hazard and its effects on health.
In Ukraine, the first national strategic risk assessment was completed in 2019. In 2021 a Joint External Evaluation (JEE) for assessment and testing of IHR core capacities ranked the emergency preparedness pillar among the lowest scores. Conducting strategic emergency risks assessment at national and subnational levels was therefore among the JEE recommendations to improve the IHR capacities in the country.
National health authorities in Ukraine are currently working towards strengthening national health emergency preparedness and response plans to enhance health security in the country. The Ministry of Health has prioritized the implementation of a National Strategic Risk Assessment (NRSA) in Ukraine to guide evidence-based planning and inform the update and development of all-hazard and hazard-specific national and subnational readiness and response plans.
Workshop to identify key actions
The Ministry of Health and the Ukrainian Public Health Center have defined a list of priority hazards. At an upcoming workshop, over 50 participants – including experts from public health, animal health, environmental protection, chemical and nuclear emergency response, and hydrometeorology – will go through a step-by-step process assessing the likelihood and impact of these priority hazards.
This will lead to risk determination and development of a national priority risks profile. Workshop participants will then collectively identify key actions to mitigate those risks and better prepare health systems for emergencies.
WHO/Europe’s work on health security
Health is a key pillar of society, and immediate, decisive and coordinated action is crucial to bolster preparedness and resilience in the WHO European Region at every level. WHO is leading the way through its Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience (HEPR) framework, along with the transformative Strategy and Action Plan on Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience in the WHO European Region for 2024–2029 (Preparedness 2.0).
This workshop is being carried out with the financial and technical assistance of the European Union.