Basic Emergency Operation Center Training Delivered
The Ethiopian Public Health Institute’s (EPHI) Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) delivered training on the fundamentals of Emergency Operation Center (EOC) for 30 PHEM officers drawn from national and South Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region, Oromia and Afar regions from November 26 to December 30, 2018.
According to the coordinators of the training, Mr. Abrham Lilay and Mr. Shambel Habebe, the training is worthwhile to strengthen public health emergency preparedness and response capacity by inspiringthe concept of EOC and Incident Management System (IMS), which is the world best practice to effectivelycoordinate emergency preparedness and response efforts.
The coordinators also explained that, this training is a need-based training which helps to intensify the efforts being underway for the development of Public Health Emergency Operation Center (PHEOC) at central and regional PHEM center, which is one of the FMoH flagship programs or focus areas.
After completing the training, the trainees are expected to apply the acquired knowledge and skills by assuming the critical IMS positions (Incident Manger, Operation Section and Planning Section) to ensure the operationalization of the PHEOC in their respective organization and improve the effectiveness of the public health emergency preparedness and response.
Modules such as the overview of IMS; Multiagency coordination systems; EOCorganization, designing, staffing, activation and deactivation, costing, funding and sustaining; approaches to develop, test, train and exercise thepublic health emergency operation documents (plans, procedures and guidance), and others were delivered.
EPHI’s PHEM Center is entitled for anticipating, preventing, preparing for, detecting, responding to, controlling and recovering from consequences of any public health threats in the country.