Western Pacific Health Experts Commit to Closing Emergency Workforce Gaps

Over 100 emergency health specialists from 56 institutions across 21 countries gathered in Seoul for a two‑day WHO‑led meeting to map and close gaps in the region’s outbreak response workforce. The partners, part of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), identified three priority areas—cybersecurity and critical infrastructure resilience, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and environmental health, and biological, nuclear and radiological emergencies. They pledged to strengthen these capacities through shared expertise and coordinated action. GOARN has already deployed nine experts on six missions this year, from measles in Vietnam to HIV in Fiji, demonstrating its surge capability. The Western Pacific network now includes 94 partners in 19 countries, and the meeting reaffirmed a collective effort to prepare the region for the next health emergency.