Ethiopia is one of the priority countries benefiting from the World Health Organization supported Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Flagship initiative. The initiative aims to promote the convergence of resources and skills from different sectors to ensure a rapid and efficient response to disasters, thus ensuring health security in the African region.

The initiative utilizes existing infrastructure to establish a well-organized partner support system that strengthens national capacity and incorporates lessons learned from COVID-19, Ebola, and other public health emergencies.

The importance of building a robust health system by enhancing emergency preparedness and improving the detection and response to public health emergencies has been underscored by the lessons learned from previous public health emergencies, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic.

The unique aspect of this initiative is its focus on building capacity within existing routine structures and systems, such as the health system, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) protocols example Cholera, and infection prevention and control (IPC). The initiative aims to establish automatic responses to outbreaks, disasters, and emergencies, thereby preventing, detecting, responding quickly, recovering, and building resilience. Capacity-building efforts will target every level of the system, particularly at the subnational, community, health facility, and personnel levels, ensuring that capacity is developed at every level. This addresses a global gap in previous emergency preparedness and response (EPR) engagements, where the capacity for quick actions at any level was limited before interventions from higher levels arrived in the event of an outbreak or emergency.

The EPR Flagship Initiative, led by the government in collaboration with WHO and Africa-CDC, focuses on three main areas: Promoting Resilience of Systems for Emergencies (PROSE), Transforming African Surveillance Systems (TASS) for prompt detection of disease outbreaks, and Strengthening and Utilizing Response Groups for Emergencies (SURGE) for a rapid response to public health emergencies. SURGE aims to train and have 3,000 African responders ready to deploy within the first 24-48 hours of an emergency.
The initiative has made significant progress since its launch, with the development of the EPR Flagship Road Map and its harmonization with the National Action Plan for Health Security. According to Dr. Nonhlanhla Dlamini, WHO Ethiopia representative a.i., the Digital Learning Platform is an integral part of the initiative and aims to establish a network of platforms at national and subnational levels to support virtual meetings, information sharing, and updates.

Dr. Mesay Hailu, Director General of Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) , placed great emphasis on the significance of the initiative in improving coordination, surveillance, and risk communication capabilities. In his opening speech, Dr. Mesay underlined that "By leveraging on existing structures and accomplishments, the EPR flagship initiative is instrumental in equipping Ethiopia with highly skilled, well-equipped, and coordinated teams capable of responding quickly and effectively to disasters or disease outbreaks. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to enhance the country's capacity to respond to emergencies with efficiency and effectiveness."

The initiative presents an opportunity for Ethiopia to further strengthen its capacity for emergency preparedness, early detection, and response. The resources are positioned with the government, fostering government leadership, with WHO support, and collaboration with a wide range of partners. The initiative takes a multisectoral approach, recognizing that disasters do not exclusively affect health. Training will be rolled out in the coming months to build on available capacity in coordination, surveillance, and risk communication.