The Republic of Korea is intensifying its efforts in public health preparedness by strengthening its team of trained national public health experts to tackle infectious disease outbreaks, both at home and abroad. In a significant move, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) partnered with the WHO Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN) to conduct specialized training for 33 public health professionals from KDCA and the Republic of Korea’s National Medical Center (NMC).
GOARN is a global technical network with over 300 partners, established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to prepare public health experts to respond to health emergencies in their countries, or internationally. During the inauguration of the training activity, which took place on 19 March 2024 in Seoul, the Commissioner of KDCA, Dr Youngmee Ji, emphasized the critical importance of this partnership: “KDCA’s vision of a safer and healthier future aligns with WHO’s goal of advancing health security in the Region. Investing in strengthening the capacity of national public health professionals in the Republic of Korea benefits not just our country but the Region at large,” she stated. This initiative underscores KDCA’s commitment to building a robust national roster of experts capable of rapid deployment in response to diverse disease outbreaks and emergency situations.
Training for the future
GOARN training includes a focus on working closely with communities and community leaders. For participants like Jiyoung Oh, a public health officer with KDCA’s Division of Risk Assessment, this aspect of the training proved to be an eye-opener. “The training opened my eyes to how crucial community leaders are to any emergency response − they have community buy-in. In previous national-level deployments, I focused on working with other public health experts and the Government. We did not take full advantage of the community leaders in response efforts,” Jiyoung shared. Having been involved in the national responses to COVID-19 and mpox outbreaks, she added, “When I’m deployed again, I will use what I’ve gained from the training to be more effective.”
GOARN training programme
GOARN’s capacity strengthening and training programme is multi-tiered, focusing on essential field skills such as effective communication, teamwork and leadership. This training ensures that responders are well equipped to handle outbreak responses in various settings, building on their existing technical skills such as epidemiology and laboratory.
The programme starts with Tier 1, a self-directed online course introducing public health experts to emergency response essentials. This is followed by a more advanced one- to two-day classroom-based training (Tier 1.5) which covers practical aspects of working as part of an international outbreak response team. The training also includes testimonials from former GOARN deployees reflecting on their personal experiences in the field. These help participants to better contextualize their own realities and to motivate them to consider deploying through GOARN.
Professor Paul Effler, a training facilitator from the University of Western Australia − a GOARN partner −highlighted the importance of building confidence among participants. “The single biggest hurdle in getting involved in international outbreak response is having the confidence to put your hand up, especially that first time when you are unsure of what it takes and what will be expected of you. This training builds that confidence. Participants come through the training believing that they have what it takes to make a difference during an emergency response.”
From Tier 1.5, the GOARN training progresses to more in-depth training activities, including a five-and-a-half-day scenario-driven simulation exercise (Tier 2) and advanced public health leadership and crisis management training (Tier 3). These comprehensive programmes ensure that public health professionals can adapt their specialized skills to various field settings, enhancing their skills and competencies to contribute effectively to outbreak responses both within their own countries and globally.
As a GOARN partner, KDCA is not only strengthening the Republic of Korea's national health emergency workforce, but also contributing to a more resilient global health community.