Mongolia hosts first functional exercise for national health emergency workforce readiness and response

In a significant step toward strengthening health emergency workforce readiness, Mongolia is the first country to carry out the national health emergency workforce readiness and response functional exercise developed by the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), as a practical tool to support countries in operationalizing key elements of the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) framework and the GOARN national outbreak response handbook. Conducted on 14 and 15 October in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Mongolia the exercise aimed to describe and assess the country’s emergency workforce, surge and leadership capacities, and identify areas for enhancement, while promoting a unified and effective response.

The two-day exercise brought together experienced public health professionals from Mongolia’s national institutions, including the Ministry of Health, National Center for Communicable Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic Diseases, UNICEF, Mongolian Red Cross society, National Center for Public Health, General Agency for Veterinary Services, World Organization for Animal Health, among others. Through the scenario-driven functional exercise, participants identified and tested how Mongolia’s workforce would respond in real time to an escalating public health emergency.

The GOARN functional exercise directly contributes to our broader vision for strengthening capacities for health security and health emergencies in Mongolia. The recent outbreaks continue to highlight serious gaps in human resources, especially at the sub-national level to scale the response. "The exercise could be a systematic tool to apply in the event of a health emergency to ensure readiness of human resources at the earliest stage," explained Dr. Socorro Escalante, WHO Representative in Mongolia. “It is a milestone for Mongolia to be the first country to use this exercise to review emergency coordination processes and workforce mobilization surge across sectors, ensuring Mongolia is well prepared before the next imminent emergency."

Public health experts from Mongolia and partner organizations take part in a GOARN-led exercise to test and strengthen national emergency workforce response capacities. © WHO

The findings from this exercise will directly contribute to the development and strengthening of Mongolia’s national action plan for health security. By testing real-time coordination and response across sectors, the exercise helps identify operational gaps and areas for improvement. Regularly conducting such functional exercises supports a whole-of-government approach to preparedness and ensures that national systems are better equipped to respond effectively to future health emergencies—ultimately reinforcing both national and global health security.

"The Ministry of Health of Mongolia is pleased to have partnered with WHO and GOARN in conducting the first functional exercise for national health emergency workforce readiness and response," said Dr Munkhzul Battsend, Officer in Charge, Expanded Programme on Immunization and Field Epidemiology Training Program, Ministry of Health, Mongolia. "This marks an important step in strengthening our emergency workforce and improving coordination across sectors and supporting the rollout of the Global Health Emergency Corps framework. We remain committed to enhancing national preparedness and contributing to global health security."

The GOARN National Outbreak Response Handbook, a tool used in the exercise, provides comprehensive guidance—through global best practices—to help countries prepare, coordinate, and respond more effectively to health emergencies. The handbook aligns with the GHEC framework, supporting countries in creating standardized, scalable workforce structures.

Participants from Mongolia’s health sector and partners join the country’s first GOARN-led functional exercise to strengthen emergency workforce readiness and response. © WHO

“Functional exercises like this provide us with critical insights into who is doing what, and where the gaps lie,” said Dr Gina Samaan, WHO Regional Emergencies Director for the Western Pacific. “Building a resilient and well-coordinated workforce is essential for an effective national response to public health emergencies. A truly multisectoral approach, beyond health, ensures that all sectors work together with clear roles, shared capacities, and unified direction.”

Participants in the exercise represented a diverse range of sectors and brought a wealth of experience, each with more than a decade in managing public health. Their engagement in this hands-on exercise helped Mongolia identify the most effective ways to structure its national workforce, repurpose existing roles, and mobilize surge capacities both from within and, as needed, from outside the country through existing partnerships and health emergency networks.

For Mongolia, the exercise marks a critical step forward and is a valuable model for other countries in the Western Pacific region and beyond, particularly for those looking to strengthen their national public health emergency workforce. Further implementations of the exercise will be adjusted based on lessons learned in Mongolia.

As global health threats continue to evolve, the importance of coordinated, cross-sectoral, and adaptable emergency response systems has never been clearer. Through initiatives like this, GOARN, within the wider GHEC ecosystem, is helping ensure that countries are ready to respond.

This work was enabled with support from the Gates Foundation and the Institute of Philanthropy.