Countries organizing international sporting events and other mass gatherings are increasingly taking risk communication seriously. On 18 August 2018, Indonesia will host 45 nations at the 18th Asian Games.
In preparation, the country is running a risk communication workshop with the help of WHO to keep the 17,000 athletes, coaches, international media and spectators safe for a successful event.
The global WHO risk communication experts were invited by the Indonesia Country Office to provide targeted support for risk communication training for national and provincial authorities in order to prepare for the upcoming mass gathering. Key topics discussed included how potential risks, such as disease outbreaks, could be detected and managed quickly using risk communication among a set of interventions.
The workshop is just one in a series of WHO missions to support governments that are organizing mass gatherings. The WHO team supported Qatar’s efforts to bolster risk communication ahead of the next World Cup football championship, which the country is scheduled to host in 2022, and provided support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in preparation for the Hajj, the world’s largest annual pilgrimage. Countries must anticipate and deal with increasingly complex planning and preparedness challenges for managing these events.
All countries can access learning material and resources for risk communication, including for mass gatherings, on www.OpenWHO.org.