The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has released a document of recommendations for training for public health threats, such as a possible future pandemic, emphasizing the need for investment in public health to address these types of situations.
The document provides guidance for countries in the European Union and the European Economic Area and is based on the «lessons learned» from the Covid-19 pandemic and the multinational outbreak of MPOX, all with the aim of assisting public health planners and policymakers to align with EU legislation and international standards of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The European Agency has identified other needs, such as strong governance and leadership, with a defined role for the public health sector; intersectoral collaboration; fair access to healthcare; and better risk communication, for which there must be community participation and infodemic management capabilities aimed at promoting trust in institutions and science.
In order for healthcare systems and societies to be more resilient and better able to recover from various crises, ECDC has emphasized the need for long-term investments in healthcare and public health personnel, including solutions for emergency response capacity.
Similarly, investments should be made in surveillance and laboratory capacity, including genomic sequencing and planning for emergency surveillance and response capacity.
Furthermore, it recommended the coordinated implementation of social and public health measures, guiding available data and closely monitoring the situation, establishing national coordination structures, maintaining public health emergency centers, implementing real-time analysis and development for both scaling up and digital systems.
For all these reasons, ECDC has encouraged countries to conduct intersective risk assessments, capacity-based planning and evaluation, for which tools like the European Common External Evaluation (ECE) and the Self-Assessment Annual Report (SPAR) can be useful.
It also advised following post-action reviews and reviews during action, focusing on restoring the healthcare system, adapting existing plans, supporting personnel, and rebuilding public confidence.
This guidance places special emphasis on risk communication, community engagement, and infodemic management, given the formation of multidisciplinary teams to actively engage with communities, especially when implementing social and public health measures.
