Ministry of Public Health participates in simulation exercise to test collective pandemic response

Doha, Qatar: ​The Ministry of Public Health recently participated in an exercise simulated an outbreak of a fictional virus spreading across the world...

Doha, Qatar: ​The Ministry of Public Health recently participated in an exercise simulated an outbreak of a fictional virus spreading across the world, coordinated by WHO’s Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC). ​

The participating team from the State of Qatar included representatives from the Health Emergency Department, Health Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department at the Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation.

Representatives from the ministries of health in several countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Somalia, and Iraq, participated in the exercise. Additionally, representatives from the WHO headquarters in Switzerland and its regional office in the Arab Republic of Egypt were also participating. 

The aim of the simulation exercise was to test a coordinated response to a globally changing health threat, engaging the health emergency workforce and coordination structures under the WHO’s Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC).

In addition, it will raise awareness among participating countries of the importance of exchanging valuable information aimed at enhancing cooperation between countries and of the importance of strengthening coordination procedures between countries, networks, and the World Health Organization.