BANJUL: 30 January 2018: Staff at the WHO Country Office (WCO) have today been oriented on the new Emergency Response Framework (ERF) 2017.

Initiated by the WHO Representative, Dr. Desta A. Tiruneh, this training is the first of its kind organized by the WCO and the main purpose is to familiarize WCO staff with the requisite knowledge and skill to better prepare for and respond to public health emergencies in The Gambia. Dr. Tiruneh described the training as the beginning of a series intended to strengthen WCO’s capacity to provide timely and efficient support to the Government and partners before, during and after public health emergencies as envisioned in AFRO’s Transformation Agenda.

The one-day training, which was facilitated by the technical officer responsible for emergencies in the WCO, covered a range of issues including WHO’s critical functions and leadership during emergencies, key performance indicators, the structure and function of the WHO Incident Management System as well as some of the emergency performance standard operating procedures (SOPs) critical to mount an effective emergency response.

The next step is to hold further sessions of orientation and simulation on some of the critical areas of the ERF and emergency SOPs to enable country office staff fully grasp the relevant knowledge and skill required for emergency operations.