EU supports training on preparedness and response to mass gatherings events for over 100 experts in Central Asia

Mass gatherings, including sporting events, religious occasions, festivals, concerts and alike bring together people from all over the world. As such, mass gathering events carry a risk of public health emergencies. With transport options becoming more affordable and accessible and businesses operating on a global scale, it is expected that more mass gatherings will take place.  Greater numbers of nations will be hosting them, and participants will be travelling from an increasingly large and distant number of countries. All these factors introduce new challenges to national and international health security. The COVID 19 crisis has dramatically highlighted the need for managing such major events.

To respond to these challenges, over 100 experts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan got together on 5-8 April 2022 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to be trained on preparedness and response to mass gatherings events. This training-of-trainers (ToT) is the first of the series of regional capacity building interventions that will be conducted in the context of EU CBRN CoE Project 87 “Preparedness and Response for Mass Gatherings and Other Health Threats in Central Asia (PRECA)”, implemented by the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC).

Ensure the right of people to participate in public gatherings in the best and safer manner

During the high-level plenary opening session of the event on 5 April 2022, Mr. Bakhtiyor Gulyamov, Head of the EU CBRN Centre of Excellence Regional Secretariat for Central Asia, highlighted that: “In the context of COVID-19, mass gathering events could trigger public health risks. To ensure that mass gatherings are held as safely as possible, the project will support capacity building across Central Asian countries to ensure that all participants of mass gatherings and the population at large are protected”.

H. E. Ms. Charlotte Adriaen, Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Uzbekistan pointed out that: “Security issues are now more than ever a priority, not only for Uzbekistan, but also for the European Union. It is also one of the key directions of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which is currently under negotiation. Within the EU-funded Project, we are happy to share the European knowledge and technics to ensure the right of people to participate in public gatherings in the best and safer manner.”

This four-day training (5-8 April 2022) covers a wide range of safety and security aspects, including conducting risk assessments tailored for specific events, as well as operational planning, multisectoral coordination, surveillance systems and rapid response, testing capacity, contingency planning and public communication during large events.