April 1, 2025 (Entebbe, Uganda): The IGAD Regional Pandemic Preparedness and Response (PREPARE) Project yesterday begun discussions with Member States to identify and address human resource gaps and needs related to Pandemic Preparedness and Response (PPP) within the IGAD region.
The focus is on strengthening these identified areas through regional collaboration and capacity-building efforts, utilizing a One Health (OH) approach to enhance coordination and improve disease and pandemic detection for early intervention, effective mitigation and efficient response.
During this meeting, the Member States will also review national training curricula, materials, and tools to ensure alignment with the latest best practices in Incident Management System (IMS) and Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM). This alignment is aimed at incorporating these practices into regional training programs to better equip frontline health workers to respond effectively to public health emergencies.
The assessment and enhancement of existing workforce skills, knowledge and expertise related to pandemic preparedness and response will help identify critical shortages, training deficiencies, and capacity gaps in different levels of the health and emergency response systems. This will foster regional discussions and recommendations for enhancing human resources capabilities and capacity-building strategies, which may include policy changes and education programs, as well as cross-sector collaboration.
This meeting takes place amid the context that IGAD has received funding from the Pandemic Fund through the World Health Organization (WHO) for the PREPARE Project, a multi-year regional multisectoral initiative. This initiative aims to mitigate the impacts of epidemics and pandemics by establishing integrated cross-border systems, facilities, and a workforce that align with the One Health framework. It emphasizes close coordination among ministries of health, livestock, environment, and other related sectors to strengthen collaboration among human, animal, and environmental professionals.
During the opening yesterday Mr. Mubarak Mabuya, IGAD Chief of Staff and Interim Director of the Health and Social Development Division, representing H.E. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, the Executive Secretary of IGAD, expressed appreciation for the commitment of IGAD Member States and their partners in pandemic preparedness and response efforts. He noted that, despite these efforts, disparities continue to persist in preparedness and response capacities for outbreaks and health emergencies, as well as variations in health workforce training and resources among countries.
He urged Member States to enhance the capabilities of community health workers, border officials, and stakeholders in priority cross-border areas by providing coordinated training. This training should be informed by a regional assessment that maps and catalogs the capacities of stakeholders and the workforce in One Health. Furthermore, it should aim to harmonize curricula, capacity-building approaches, management tools, and gender-sensitive guidelines for epidemic prevention, preparedness, and response in the IGAD region.
“Effective pandemic and epidemic responses depend, in part, on the preparedness of the workforce across various sectors. Therefore, let us remain open to one another and engage in a spirit of cooperation, collaboration, and unity during the assessments and curriculum review,” stated Mr. Mabuya
On behalf of the International Federation of Red Cross Crescent Societies (IFRC) Dr. Michael Aiyabei the Manager, Regional Operations re-echoed its support in championing the key role of prevention, surveillance and response in partnership with IGAD and other stakeholders to champion the One health approach in preparing for future pandemics as the Member States combat diseases to respond to current epidemics spread by population movement and across borders.
Representing the World Health Organisation Country Representative to Uganda Dr. Mwiga Kasonde was the Country Emergency Readiness Officer Dr. Immaculate Atuhaire who pointed out that the IGAD region faces significant public health challenges due to frequent disease outbreaks with epidemic and pandemic potential due to the interconnected nature of its borders, the movement of people, livestock, and goods, and the existing gaps in health systems necessitate a cohesive, regional approach to preparedness and response.
“WHO remains committed to supporting IGAD member states in strengthening national and cross-border capacities to mitigate the risks posed by emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Thus, particularly important as it focuses on Human Resources for Health (HRH)—the backbone of any effective response system with the availability, capacity, and resilience of the health workforce are critical determinants of how effectively countries detect, respond to, and contain outbreaks through partnerships and collaboration to address workforce shortages and training gaps and to strengthen collaboration between sectors and borders to build a resilient and well-prepared workforce across IGAD Member States” Dr. Atuhaire emphasized.
The meeting was officiated by Dr. Tom Aliti, the the Commissioner Health Partners and Multi-Sectoral Coordination and Health Economist Directorate of Health Governance and Regulation representing the Director General Health Services at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uganda.
Dr. Aliti highlighted that one of the major challenges the country faces is limited availability of trained personnel to manage health emergencies mentioning that Uganda is undertaking a Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) curriculum review to align training programs with emerging health threats to strengthen the preparedness of frontline workers, equipping them with skills in surveillance, early detection, and outbreak response. I urge IGAD member states to adopt similar approaches, ensuring harmonized and standardized training across the region.
“This meeting presents an opportunity to redefine our priorities, enhance cooperation, and establish a strong foundation for public health security by championing evidence-based strategies to improve regional preparedness in the IGAD region” Dr. Aliti concluded.
The meeting is being attended by health technical experts from the Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Livestock, Wildlife and Environment, as well as One Health-related agencies and partners such as WHO, Africa CDC, IFRC, Uganda Red Cross Society, AFROHUN, FELTP, AFENET and technical experts from the region.
