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NIH hosted a two-day Tabletop Exercise (TTX) on May 21-22, 2024, focusing on strengthening preparedness and response for mass gatherings.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) hosted a two-day Tabletop Exercise (TTX) on May 21-22, 2024, focusing on strengthening preparedness and response for mass gatherings. The workshop was held at the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) NIH, with the aim to improve Command, Control, and Communication (C3) capabilities for effective public health emergency management.

The event brought together representatives from national and provincial ministries, including MOFA, NDMA, EPA, NARC, SPD, DESTO academia, and development partners. It was organized with support from the Center of Excellence (CoE) Project 87: PRECA Preparedness and Response for Mass Gatherings and Other Health Threats in Central Asia.

During the inaugural session Dr. Muhammad Salman, Chief Executive Officer of NIH, emphasized the importance of mass gathering preparedness aligned with the International Health Regulations (IHR) monitoring and evaluation framework, highlighting the value of After-Action Reviews (AARs) and Simulation Exercises (SimEx) for continuous improvement of public health preparedness.

Dr. Faheem Tahir, the National Focal Person for CBRN in Pakistan, provided an overview of the exercise and underscored the critical role of such multi-stakeholders from food, water, chemical, animal health, and human health experts’ collaboration in capacity building of public health emergency response for mass gatherings.

Mr. Mark Salter, PRECA facilitator focused on the need to know the role and coordination mechanism in case of any public health emergency along with plans available and their use in mass gathering events. We also need to know the gaps and how to fill the gaps to strengthen the system.

Ms. Zurva gave an overview of the purpose, aim, objectives, and methodology of the exercise along with the roles of moderators, facilitators, observers, and participants.