Building Africa’s Rapid Response through Public Health Emergency Operations Centres
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by
AFENET
Dr. Atek Kagirita, Director and Deputy Incident Commander at the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), Uganda, presided over the opening session.
The African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), in partnership with the Ministry of Health Uganda through the National Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (NPHEOC) and with support from the Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme Phase 2 (TDDAP 2) funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, is strengthening Rapidly Deployable Emergency Response Teams (RDETs) in the Kampala Metropolitan area.
From 30th September – 3rd October 2025, a training workshop at Esella Country Resort, Ntinda brought together multidisciplinary experts to gain advanced technical and operational skills for:
- Early detection of public health threats
- Rapid response to outbreaks and epidemics
- Effective containment of public health emergencies
The training follows the World Health Organization’s Rapid Response Team Public Health Emergency Management (RRT-PHEM) curriculum and the Incident Management System (IMS) framework, forming a critical part of Uganda’s broader strategy to operationalize and institutionalize Regional Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) within Regional Public Health Emergency Operations Centres (RPHEOCs). This ensures that emergencies can be detected and controlled swiftly at the regional level.
“Strengthening regional emergency response capacity is a national priority,” said Dr. Sarah Zalwango, Ag. Director Public Health, KCCA. “This training equips our experts with the tools and coordination mechanisms needed to protect communities across Uganda from emerging public health threats.”
By equipping multidisciplinary experts with these advanced competencies, the Ministry of Health is reinforcing Uganda’s capacity to detect, respond to, and contain public health emergencies swiftly and effectively. Key areas covered include emergency coordination, resource management, and rapid response mechanisms, essential for strengthening Uganda’s decentralized preparedness and response to outbreaks, epidemics, and other health threats.
