Public health officials from EU countries and four EU candidate countries met in Ljubljana in early October for a three-day workshop on running public health emergency operations centres.
Participants came from EU member states as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Moldova and Ukraine, and attended the training on 5–7 October in Slovenia’s capital, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) informed on Friday.
The workshop was hosted by Slovenia’s National Institute of Public Health and organised by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization’s regional office for Europe, WHO/Europe.
Attendees worked on practical ways to apply what they learned using approaches that could be adapted and expanded to fit national needs.
They also examined how public health emergency operations centres — often referred to as PHEOCs — function in EU member states, where the model has been developed in line with EU and international standards.
What was covered in the training
Participants explored day-to-day operations and exchanged experiences on epidemic intelligence, early detection, preparedness and response, according to the ECDC.
They also took part in practical exercises on emergency activation protocols.
PHEOCs were described as central to managing public health emergencies by bringing together information, expertise and coordination to support decision-making and response.
The event was held under the EOC-NET European Regional Forum, a joint platform set up by ECDC and WHO/Europe to strengthen PHEOCs.
Support for the event also came through ECDC’s Accession Support Action, which the organisation said is intended to strengthen countries’ capacity to prevent and control communicable diseases and support the implementation of EU public health standards.
