Members of the Global Outbreak Alert, and Response Network (GOARN) Steering Committee (SCOM) met for their 35^th meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, in an event jointly hosted by the Rwanda Biomedical Center and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The meeting was led by the SCOM Chair Dr. Gail Carson, and Deputy Chair Dr. Mohannad Al Nsour.

The SCOM meeting is held twice a year, offering SCOM members an opportunity to review ongoing activities, deliverables, and operations; while giving guidance to the network on next steps; and the evaluation of new concepts relevant to its function. Taking place between April 29 and May 1, 2024, this edition of the event saw topics grouped into three geographical themes: national, regional, and global, with the aim of showcasing GOARN's efforts across different levels.

“Today, the meeting is being held in the African continent. A previous meeting was hosted in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) in Amman, Jordan. It is truly remarkable to witness these regions taking on a prominent role in organizing these vital gatherings. I am eagerly looking forward to the advancements and achievements that are unfolding from fruitful discussions and collaborations.” Dr. Al Nsour delivering opening remarks. 

In regional and global-themed sessions chaired by Dr. Carson, members gave updates on GOARN-related activities while focusing on best practices for outbreak response cited by National Public Health Institutes. Updates were also made by networks of the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC), with a focus on potential areas for collaboration.

“There must be linkage between the GHEC and other regional initiatives especially in the context of the increasing emergencies in regions like the EMR where we need to adopt innovative mechanisms for deployments, suitable for region’s suffering from acute and protracted emergencies.” Dr. Al Nsour said on the need for regionally relevant strategies.

Representing EMPHNET in all sessions, its Public Health Emergency Management Center (PHEMC) Team Leader Dr. Haitham Bashier, highlighted the organization’s role in supporting the network during different public health emergencies, especially through the implementation of the One Health approach. Dr Bashier. also highlighted EMPHNET’s role in conducting topically and nationally contextualized training, and the creation of strong partnerships despite resource limitations.

In the national-themed sessions, chaired by Dr. Al Nsour, discussions focused on scaling up GOARN’s activities through enhancing the network’s training program, strategy implementation, research, fellowships, and other initiatives enabling rapid response capacities.

Dr. Al Nsour contributed to the discussion by emphasizing the need for scaling up the implementation of the One Health approach, and the strengthening of GOARN’s role as an independent collaborative platform. He also spoke about infusing its strategy with lessons learned from the field. It was during this session that “GOARN National Outbreak Response Handbook” was officially launched as a guide for national outbreak response.

As a member of GOARN since 2012 and a GOARN SCOM since 2013, EMPHNET capitalizes on its strong presence in the EMR to contribute to the global response to major emergencies. EMPHNET deployed public health professionals from its network into several different countries in support of response to disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies, and it also contributed its technical expertise to the network.