Guidance and tools for conducting a country COVID-19 after action review (AAR)

Overview

Following the declaration of the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern for COVID-19 (5 May 2023), the first temporary recommendation issued by the Director-General urged state parties to conduct an after-action review (AAR) of their response to COVID-19 in order to improve their country’s readiness for future pandemics.

This Guidance for country COVID-19 after action review (AAR) aims to support countries in achieving this recommendation to systematically review their respective responses to COVID-19. It provides step-by-step instructions and relevant tools to conduct a country COVID-19 AAR.

Building off existing WHO COVID-19 intra-action review (IAR) and generic AAR methodologies, the document advocates for the utilisation of a COVID-19-specific AAR as a means to achieve health system learning, improve health emergency preparedness, response and resilience, and support countries as they build back better their sustainable health systems after the pandemic.

It is important to note that the COVID-19 AAR toolkit presented below should be used as “live” working documents. The COVID-19 AAR toolkit can be adapted and customised depending on the context, needs, and priorities of the country conducting the AAR. Moreover, this guidance and toolkit do not substitute but rather supplement the guidance and tools for conducting a country COVID-19 IAR and a generic AAR, already published.

Also visit the Emergency Response Reviews web page.