Exchange Visit on Article 6
Background
Exchange Visit are part of the Emergency Preparedness Integrated Courses (EPIC11) project, which focuses on preparedness and response training development in EU Member States and EEA countries. The EPIC11 project is the result of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) and DG SANTE’s call for tenders on “EU preparedness: analysis, planning, reporting and training programmes for health specialists”. The call builds on the need to implement the new EU Regulation on Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health (SCBTH). In particular, to reinforced prevention, preparedness and response planning with targeted training and knowledge exchange activities for healthcare and public health staff (Article 11).
The aim of EPIC11 is to develop a contextualised and relevant training programme that responds to the needs of health specialists and addresses the current gaps in EU Member States and EEA countries in relation to emergency preparedness planning. EPIC11 is implemented by a consortium made up of GFA consulting group GmbH (GFA), KIT Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), and Think Modular (TM).
The overall vision is to respond better to future public health emergencies, within and across countries. The training programme will support EU Member States and EEA countries to:
- Build knowledge & skills for more resilient emergency management;
- Strengthen communication collaboration & coordination within and between countries.
The foundation of the training programme is a multi-hazard approach to health threats in a cross-sectoral and cross-border setting, focussing on serious cross-border threats to health.
This training programme will be complementary and build on the existing training programmes developed and managed by ECDC, WHO, EC DG, HERA, Joint Actions, various EU level projects, universities, training institutes and national institutions.
Prevention, preparedness and response planning (PPR planning) is essential for effective monitoring, early warning of and combatting serious cross-border threats to health. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need to enhance PPR planning to serious cross-border health threats both at the national level and at the Union level. The Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health enforces national level PPR planning through regular reporting and assessing of national plans. Also, the regulation outlines the establishment of the EU Training Programme on PPR Planning and development of a Union PPR plan.
According to Article 6 of the Regulation, when preparing national PPR plans, “Member States shall liaise with each other within the Health Security Committee (HSC) and coordinate with the Commission in order to seek coherence with the Union PPR plan to the largest possible extent.” While preparing their plans, “Member States may also consult, where relevant, patient organisations, healthcare professionals’ organisations, industry and supply chain stakeholders, as well as national social partners.
And, “national prevention, preparedness and response plans may include elements relating to governance, capacities and resources. Regulation puts special emphasis on the collaboration in cross-border regions and across sectors.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes PPR planning through the National Action Planning for Health Security (NAPHS) that is a country owned, multi-year, planning process that is based on One Health for all-hazards, whole-of-government approach. The NAPHS strategy encourages Member States to use existing health security capacity development plans and ensure alignment with the broader national health strategy, planning and budgeting cycles in order to enhance investment case opportunities from domestic and international budgetary allocations for health security.
Aims and objectives
EPIC11 organises 12 Exchange Visits for health experts in EU/EEA countries. The aim of an exchange visit is to strengthen preparedness planning and response by
- Learning from best practices
- Sharing experiences and lessons learned
- Fostering networks and cross-border collaboration
Aims
The Meeting on EU/EEA countries’ Prevention, Preparedness and Response Plans is set up to respond to Article 6 of the EU Regulation 2022/2371 on cross-border threats to health. The meeting will facilitate the sharing of experiences on PPR planning at national level and support the networking of national competent authorities responsible for developing and implementing these plans.
The thematic focus the Exchange Visit in Slovenia is on multisectoral collaboration for all-hazard planning. This Exchange Visit aims to:
- Exchange knowledge and best practices on multisectoral preparedness systems and response mechanisms implemented by different countries.
- Discuss and exchange challenges and opportunities in development and implementation of PPR plans on biological, chemical, environmental, and unknown threats to health.
- Strengthen cross-border and cross-sectoral collaboration through improved prevention, preparedness, and response planning.
- Foster collaboration, communication, and cross-border partnerships among countries, thereby enhancing collective responses to health emergencies and nurturing a growing Community of Practice network that supports ongoing learning, collaboration, and exchange among health experts.
Objectives
The Meeting on EU/EEA countries’ Prevention, Preparedness and Response Plan has been requested by the EU/EEA countries to provide a platform to facilitate the discussions and exchange experiences PPR plans. Country experts working on national PPR plans can exchange their experiences on the developing, revising the plans and implementing the plans from three different aspects or provide their suggestions:
- Managing the process of developing and revising national PPR plans
- Governance of PPR planning
- Evidence-based PPR planning
The meeting is designed to benefit EU/EEA countries in different phases of the planning cycle, from early adopters to planning champions. At the same time, these face-to-face meetings will encourage and enhance collaboration and cooperation across borders.
Besides the plenary sessions, the meeting also foresee scenario-based group discussions on biological, chemical, environmental, and unknown threats. The meetings will also support the development of the EU Training Programme on PPR Planning (Article 11) and the Union PPR Plan (Article 5 of the same Regulation).
Methodology
The exchange visit on Article 6 follows a participatory approach, promoting the constant exchange of experiences among different countries and participants, aiming to engage the audience in meaningful discussions, allowing them to ask questions, share insights, and provide feedback on the presented structures and plans.
The programme comprises presentations from specific countries and subject matter experts, group discussions, plenary discussions, and experience sharing and includes a field visit to an emergency operations centre.
- The meeting will be chaired by DG SANTE and moderated by EPIC11. AN expert from the ECDC will present and contribute to the discussion. Country experts are invited to present and share experiences on PPR planning.
Target audience
The exchange visit is open to all EU Member States and EEA countries.
The exchange visit will be open to 40 participants. The target audience is
- mid-level managers and experts from public health and civil protection sectors involved in policy-making activities in the area of prevention, preparedness, and response;
- risk managers, planners and senior level officials within the national healthcare sector;
- other relevant stakeholders in the health emergency management field interested in the topic of the relocation of hospitals and decentralization of hospitals.
Preparatory material: National strategies and operation plans.
The overall vision is to respond better to future public health emergencies, within and across countries.