Strengthening emergency preparedness and response remains a critical priority for Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its Strategic Plan 2023–2027. Here simulation exercises play a key role in building regional capacity. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) International Health Regulations Strengthening Project (IHR SP) recently supported the second cohort of the Simulation Exercise Train-the-Trainer (SimEx ToT) programme for all seven Member States of the Africa CDC Northern Africa Regional Coordinating Centre (RCC).  This training aims to equip public health professionals across Africa at both Regional and Member State levels with the skills to design, conduct, evaluate and train other colleagues in emergency simulations, thereby ensuring better preparedness for future public health emergencies. The workshop was a collaborative event between Africa CDC, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and UKHSA, held between 27 to 31 October 2024 in Tunis, Tunisia. This SimEx ToT is a continuation of the training programme initially conducted in Arusha, Tanzania in January 2023 for the Eastern Africa RCC.

Training overview

The IHR-SP supported Africa CDC and ECDC by co-developing the course curriculum, creating training materials, and designing a tabletop exercise for participants. Additionally, IHR-SP was part of the facilitation team and contributed to training participants in all aspects of the curriculum.

The training curriculum consisted of:  

  • Two days of theory covering all aspects of exercise design and ‘Training of Trainer’ module
  • Two days of practical work, with participants designing an exercise and briefing on their materials including aim and objectives, scenario, master events list, injects and evaluation
  • Final day participation in a tabletop exercise as a participant or facilitator

Image above: group work during the training

The training was well received by delegates and participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The majority of the of respondents either ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that the materials were clear and easy to understand (23/24; 95.8%) and that the training was relevant to the participants' jobs (22/24; 91.7%). Furthermore, the workshop was a unique opportunity for the Member States to learn with and from their contemporaries in neighbouring nations and establish new relationships. It is expected developing relationships between participants from the Northern Member States would encourage collaborative working to improve emergency preparedness systems across the region.

This training was built on learnings from the Arusha 2023 ToT feedback. The analysis of the first cohort participant feedback conducted by IHR-SP highlighted that interpretation and translation would create a more inclusive learning environment. Therefore, for the second cohort in Tunis, IHR-SP was able to provide interpretation services to accommodate the multiple languages spoken by the participants: French, Arabic and English. This was a particularly successful aspect of the training and added real value to the delegates, allowing everyone to engage in the conversations and activities.

Image above: interpreters' booths

IHR-SP fostering sustainability

The ToT approach aligns with the systems strengthening and sustainability model that the UKHSA IHR-SP project has developed. With each successive cohort, Africa CDC aims to increase the capacity of Member States to conduct simulations within and across the region’s borders. Multiple participants expressed their intent to replicate the training experience by sharing knowledge and experiences with peers, particularly by conducting their own simulation exercises. IHR-SP will follow up with participants in 3-6 months to monitor their progress and support Africa CDC with additional training needs.

Additionally, the training fostered practical knowledge-sharing within IHR-SP itself, as the project’s Zambia and Ethiopia Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response Technical Advisers, Dr Dingase Mvula and Dr Dagu Tolossa respectively, were facilitators for this workshop. They were able to share their experiences while also learning from Africa CDC colleagues to support the establishment of a simulation exercise programme at both the Zambian and Ethiopian Public Health Institutes.

Drawing from the analysis of facilitator and participant feedback the IHR-SP team will continue to work with Africa CDC to enhance future training programmes in addition to exploring areas of collaboration with other technical areas within IHR-SP.

Image above: Participants and facilitators for the simulation exercise training of trainers in Tunis, Tunisia