APEC Pandemic Response Exercise report
For the purposes of the 'APEC Pandemic Response Exercise 2006', the new 'Malacca Straits Flu' was suspected in some fishermen, whose boat subsequently capsized and who were rescued by a passing passenger cruise ship. This led to a hypothetical 'outbreak' of pandemic proportions within the APEC region The scenario successfully achieved the goal of testing communication responses during the exercise, which lasted 26 hours across eight time zones-starting in Wellington, New Zealand on Wednesday and concluding on Thursday with final calls to Washington, DC. More than 500 messages were dispatched between the participating economies, involving language translations in Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish. Senior officials from the relevant agencies made critical decisions based on 'real' developments, communicating through the National Emergency Management Coordination Centre of Emergency Management Australia (EMA) in Canberra. The exercise attracted credible responses from participating economies, including Australia, which were able to quickly activate and communicate their national preparedness plans. A 'Lessons Learned' workshop hosted by Singapore will be the next phase with a final report and recommendations for future arrangements submitted to APEC Ministers and leaders in November 2006.
•Date: 13th June 2006• Region: Various • Type: Article •Topic: Pandemic planning |
