Experts from Kazakhstan, Mongolia and VERTIC represented EU CBRN CoE Project 53 in the Technical Consultation on National Cross-sectoral Collaboration between Security and Health Sectors organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Hong Kong, SAR China. With 51 participants from 19 countries, international organisations and non-governmental actors, the Technical Consultation facilitated sharing of experiences between countries to identify best practices and develop a framework for military and civilian health collaboration.  This effort led by WHO aims at enhancing countries' capacities under the International Health Regulations (IHR) requirements to prevent, detect and respond to potential public health emergencies

During the meeting, Mr Tegshbayar (Mongolia) presented on Mongolia national framework for security and health sectors collaboration, while Ms Andreyeva chaired a session on guidance and tools for collaboration between the military and civilian sectors. Project 53 Non-Key Expert Mr Apercé (VERTIC) also discussed the findings of the report on Emergency Response Planning in Central Asia: Common Challenges and Opportunities for Cooperation (click here to see the report), developed under Project 53, on behalf of the EU CBRN CoE Project 53 Consortium.

The report analyses the national and transnational emergency intervention schemes focusing on biological events, which incorporate the modi operandi of Common Alert Protocol (CAP) and Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) for the Project 53 partner countries Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Its results are based on a desk study using publicly available data, which was later consolidated with the partner countries' institutions feedback.

EU CBRN CoE Project 53 is grateful to WHO for its invitation to participate in this important event.