The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) is a network composed of numerous technical and public health institutions, laboratories, NGOs, and other organizations that work to observe and respond to threatening epidemics. GOARN works closely with and under the World Health Organization (WHO), which is one of its most notable partners. 2.2.2 The WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network. The central coordinating body within the WHO’s surveillance function is the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.There are now numerous international surveillance and response programmes (ISRPs), networks and online databases recording outbreaks of notifiable diseases, i.e. Cases that health workers are legally required to.
What We Do: Respond Rapidly to Global EmergenciesCDC’s Global Rapid Response Team (Global RRT) is a unique resource that can rapidly respond to global public health concerns, both within the U.S. In 2016, Global RRT staff spent more than 9,000 person-days in over 90 responses to cholera, yellow fever, Ebola, measles, polio, mass gatherings, and natural disasters.The Global RRT is a readily deployable team of public health experts coordinated from CDC Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, with dedicated full-time staff from across the world. We have more than 400 surge staff, with more than 50 ready to deploy on short notice. Some Global RRT staff remain in the field during an emergency response for up to six months.The Global RRT:. Responds to emergencies when and where they occur to stop health threats before they reach our shores. Provides long-term staffing for international emergency responses in the field and at CDC headquarters. Deploys field-based logistics, communications, and management and operations experts to support emergency response.
Helps partner countries achieve core global health security capabilities linked to the (GHSA) and (IHR). Capacity building.
Coordination. Epidemiology. Field logistics. Health promotion. Lab support. Long-term staffing. Management.
SurveillanceWe identify and develop a trained, deployable, multi-disciplinary emergency workforce at CDC.The Global RRT has dedicated staff, as well as surge staff from across CDC. Dedicated staff are hired full-time to work on the Global RRT, while surge staff maintain their current positions and mobilize when needed for emergency responses. All Global RRT staff become deployment ready (including medical clearances) and complete safety, security, technical, and contextual training.We can rapidly deploy up to 50 public health experts internationally or to the CDC Emergency Operations Center.At any given time, Global RRT dedicated and surge staff are available to deploy to support or lead a range of emergency response activities. The Global RRT coordinates with other CDC experts who monitor and respond to infectious and non-infectious global health threats.We provide stable, long-term staffing for emergencies when a sustained agency response is a priority.The placement of staff with experience in emergency management improves communication and coordination within the agency and between CDC and its partners.We serve as CDC’s link to key global health emergency partners.The Global RRT coordinates and partners with both U.S. Government and national and international partners who respond to global health emergencies.
This includes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) (OFDA), which is responsible for leading and coordinating the U.S. Government’s response to disasters overseas. The Global RRT also works closely with the (GOARN). Ashley Greiner (Global RRT Tier 1 Epidemiologist) working long hours in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew (Photo: Coralie Giese, Global RRT)We help partner countries meet obligations to international global health security agreements.Our work helps countries meet global health security goals related to workforce development; emergency operations; linking public health with law and multi-sectoral rapid response; and medical countermeasures and personnel deployment.
Why It’s ImportantThe high-stakes Ebola epidemic of 2014 might have had devastating impacts on the United States if CDC and its partners hadn’t been able to contain the outbreaks in West Africa. Public health agencies worldwide learned many lessons from the Ebola response, one of which is that we need a readily available group of public health responders who can deploy to control diseases from the moment we detect them.Global RRT increases the efficiency and effectiveness of CDC’s overall response capability by filling key positions in the field and at headquarters when emergencies occur. This improves global health security by increasing our ability to quickly respond to health threats and growing a stronger global emergency workforce.
The GDD Operations Center scans multiple sources of information about disease events, including media and the internet, for key words in over 50 languages. GDD Operations Center staff review both official information sources (such as reports from ministries of health or WHO) and unofficial media reports. All unofficial reports are verified through a global network of public health professionals and reviewed for signs of emerging threats to the public’s health.The GDD Operations Center monitors around 30-40 reported public health events each day, with particular emphasis on CDC’s current or potential outbreak and emergency responses. The GDD Operations Center, situated within CDC’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), partners with several institutions and agencies within the US and internationally to exchange information. Information sharing is built on trust and an understanding of how to appropriately handle information, particularly when it is not yet public. 1 International partners and collaborators include but are not limited to agencies affiliated with WHO and the UN, collaborating countries’ ministries of health and agriculture, humanitarian organizations, and animal health organizations.Because of its partnerships, the GDD Operations Center is often the first to alert CDC staff about an international outbreak, natural disaster, or other public health event – whether biological, chemical or radiological.
The GDD Operations Center staff collaborates with experts from across CDC, providing a strong foundation to report the most accurate and timely information about an event and the risk it poses to public health.If assistance is requested by the country or region experiencing an outbreak, information is exchanged to identify and confirm outbreaks, gather epidemiologic information, and launch joint responses. The GDD Operations Center participates in the Biosurveillance Indications and Warning Analytic Community (BIWAC), a US government interagency collaboration that exchanges information through an online portal to verify the earliest signals of a potential threat. GDD Operations Center is also the CDC liaison for WHO’s Global Alert and Response Network (GOARN), detecting, assessing and verifying events and responding to requests for international assistance to control disease outbreaks.