Global Health Emergency Corps
© WHO / Booming - Carlos Cesar
A COVID-19 vaccination centre in Paz Flor mall in Luanda, Angola on 20 May 2021.
A COVID-19 vaccination centre in Paz Flor mall in Luanda, Angola on 20 May 2021.
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Credits
The COVID-19 pandemic showed that the world is ill-equipped to counteract a new, significant threat to human lives and economies. While decisions on national responses will always be retained by each country, the pandemic underscored that no nation can protect itself through individual action alone.
The vision of Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) is a health emergency workforce centred in countries and coordinated regionally and globally, composed of:
- Connected health emergency leaders
- Health emergency surge capacities
- Health emergency workforce
GHEC is a framework for enhancing health emergency workforce capacity within health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR) work, and a collaboration platform for countries and health emergency networks.
Many initiatives are already vital pillars of the GHEC as they bring together partners and countries, and contribute to the common vision:
- Emergency Medical Teams initiative (EMT)
- Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN)
- International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI)
- Public Health Emergency Operations Center Network (EOC-NET)
- Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET)
- Standby Partnership network (SBP)
- Global Health Cluster
At the regional level, efforts are underway to adapt the concept and platform of the health emergency corps to each context.