WHO EMRO Weekly Epidemiological Monitor: Volume 13, Issue no 36; 6 September 2020

Building rapid response team capacities in EMR for COVID-19

Over the past years, the WHO Regional Office for Eastern Mediterranean Region worked in steady steps with partners and Member States to strengthen emergency preparedness and response operations through the training of rapid response teams at the regional, national and subnational levels. This investment has paid-off for the COVID-19 response but still more work needs to be done.

Editorial note

Long before COVID-19, the capacities of rapid response teams (RRTs) were built during country support missions and sub-regional workshops. More than 1,000 RRT members had been trained in recent years across the region, and an active RRT network exist in the region.

Moreover, a regional roster of well-trained RRT members was established and expanded over time to provide technical support to different countries through facilitating trainings, conducting outbreak investigation and response activities, and contributing in the development and review of policies, plans and guidelines.
With the advent of COVID-19, the roles of national and sub-national RRTs in the Region were strengthened through:

1. Developing of a field rapid response guide, which is a manual for public health authorities and RRTs that outlines the basic steps to plan and conduct field outbreak investigation and respond to COVID-19.

2. Developing of training materials in collaboration with US CDC and WHO HQ.
   These comprise of self-enrolment RRT learning packages, as well as RRT skill drill simulation exercises.

3. Conducting real-time trainings for national RRTs through online webinars.

4. Providing support to RRT monitoring through mapping exercises of RRT functionality in the Region.

5. Ensuring the availability of sufficient quantities of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other infection prevention and control materials to protect the frontline RRT members.