A regional training of trainers has opened in Cabo Verde to enhance public health emergency management and humanitarian health coordination in five African Portuguese-speaking countries. The training, part of the AVoHC-SURGE initiative, brings together 34 participants from Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe. This joint initiative by WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention aims to develop emergency response teams.
The training, funded by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, will run from November 9 to 20, 2026. ProEpi, a partner in the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, is delivering the course in Portuguese. The course addresses the challenge of limited access to specialized training in Portuguese, which has hindered the five countries' ability to train more responders and participate in regional deployments.
The regional training allows teams to exchange lessons on responding to various threats, including infectious disease outbreaks and climate-related disasters. Participants will learn to lead emergency responses, coordinate with humanitarian partners, and manage Public Health Emergencies Operations Centre (PHEOCs). PHEOCs enable health authorities to coordinate information and resources during emergencies. Country teams will practise assigning responsibilities, making decisions, and mobilizing personnel and resources in simulations.
Flavia Semedo, Health Emergency Officer, emphasized the need for strong national coordination, trained personnel, and rapid response capacities across different islands in Cabo Verde. The course brings together health ministry representatives from various sectors, including defence, agriculture, environment, internal affairs, and hospitals, to develop the skills needed to train national emergency responders.
The AVoHC-SURGE initiative aims to build a roster of over 50 government-nominated responders in each country, comprising specialists from different sectors and disciplines who can deploy rapidly. Since August 2022, 33 countries in the WHO African Region have trained over 3000 responders, and 29 countries have deployed them as first-line responders.
Following the course, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with other relevant sectors, will identify potential national responders for formal government nomination. The trained participants will then cascade the training in their respective countries, building a multidisciplinary pool of national responders prepared for rapid deployment during emergencies.
The course will also strengthen collaboration among Portuguese-speaking African countries, enabling them to share technical expertise and provide operational support across borders during health emergencies. Country teams will present outlines detailing responsibilities, timelines, and budgets, and Dr. Ishata Conteh, Unit Lead, Emergency Management Support, called on governments to nominate responders from different sectors and make arrangements for their rapid deployment.
Key points
- The training aims to build a roster of over 50 government-nominated AVoHC-SURGE responders in each country.
- The course addresses the challenge of limited access to specialized training in Portuguese.
- The training will strengthen collaboration among Portuguese-speaking African countries.
