Building a skilled workforce to prepare for and respond to emergencies

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance for WHO Member States to prepare for health emergencies and strengthen health systems, including through intensified workforce development. We need a ready, willing and able workforce – a workforce for excellence – that can be called upon to help save lives, reduce disease and suffering, and minimize socio-economic loss to affected communities and countries.

WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme prioritizes learning and training as it works to meet the Organization’s ambitious target of ensuring 1 billion people are better protected from health emergencies.

WHO supports Member States’ workforce development plans on Health Emergency Preparedness, Readiness and implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) through a systematic and sustainable approach to learning.  It provides strategic direction for scaling-up IHR learning activities, including through the adaptation at country level of WHO-designed learning packages and activities based on needs identified.

The WHO Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative also helps organizations and Member States build national capacities and stronger health systems so that countries have the ability to respond promptly when a disaster strikes or an outbreak flares. 

 In addition to face-to-face training, WHO’s Health Security Learning Platform and OpenWHO also provides online self-learning packages, which are available to the public.