Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar

Programme Overview

Public health security in Eastern Africa requires robust systems capable of detecting, verifying, and containing infectious threats before they escalate into regional crises.⁣​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌⁣ This five-day course equips public health professionals with advanced skills in multi-hazard disease surveillance and outbreak risk analysis. Delivered in Zanzibar, the programme focuses on operationalising the International Health Regulations (2005) and strengthening Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response guidelines, providing participants with the practical competencies necessary to protect vulnerable communities from high-consequence pathogens.

Participants explore the core architecture of modern epidemic management, bridging the gap between field epidemiology and coordinated emergency command structures. The curriculum examines indicator-based and event-based surveillance, rapid health risk assessment methodologies, and cross-border data exchange frameworks. Through structured peer analysis and technical working groups, delegates review laboratory confirmation pathways, sample referral logistics, and real-time reporting mechanisms to ensure national systems can rapidly translate epidemiological intelligence into decisive, life-saving operational countermeasures.

The training culminates in the practical design of multi-sectoral emergency preparedness frameworks, public health emergency operations centre standard operating procedures, and joint border protocols. Delegates evaluate resource mobilisation strategies, legal mandates, and regional communication channels within the East African Community. By working through realistic emergency scenarios, attendees leave prepared to formulate comprehensive contingency plans that align national priorities with regional health security architecture, ensuring public institutions maintain operational readiness in the face of emergent biological threats.

Strengthening emergency surveillance and response capacity is an urgent regional priority, underscored by major health security initiatives such as the US$120m Rwanda Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience Project.⁣​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌⁣ Recent outbreaks in the region highlight that pathogen transmission does not respect borders, necessitating harmonised detection protocols and seamless cross-border coordination. Public health authorities require immediate, institutional capability to operationalise laboratory networks, scale rapid response teams, and deploy standardised contingency operations to mitigate the human and economic costs of future epidemics.

Delivered by Risalat Consultants International in Zanzibar, Tanzania, it combines expert-led sessions, real cases and group work, so that participants can apply what they learn in their own institution.

The Programme Strengthens Institutional Capability

• International Health Regulations (2005) core capacities and national surveillance obligations
• Third Edition IDSR framework: Indicator-based versus event-based disease detection
• Community-based surveillance models and early warning signal verification processes
• Digital health tools and electronic surveillance platforms for real-time reporting
• Case definitions, alert thresholds, and priority zoonotic and epidemic-prone diseases
• Methodologies for public health risk assessment in acute biological events
• Formulation, equipping, and operational deployment of multidisciplinary Rapid Response Teams
• Field investigation protocols: Active case-finding, line listing, and contact identification
• Procurement planning and market analysis
• Choosing procurement methods and approaches
• Writing specifications and terms of reference
• Bidding documents and evaluation criteria

It is designed for field epidemiologists and disease surveillance officers, public health directors and technical advisors, emergency preparedness and response team leads and others who want practical, current skills in procurement and contract management.

The Growing Importance of Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar

Procurement is where public money becomes roads, medicines, systems and services. Delays, weak specifications and poor contract management are among the most common reasons projects fall behind or fail their audits.

Financiers and governments now expect value for money, fair competition and well-documented decisions at every stage, from planning to contract completion. Teams who manage the full cycle well deliver faster and with fewer complaints.

Organisations increasingly require professionals capable of:

• Plan procurement that matches project needs and timelines
• Prepare clear specifications and evaluation criteria
• Evaluate bids consistently and defend the decision
• Manage contracts, variations and performance
• Keep complete records for audit and review

Strong procurement and contract management systems help organisations:

• Reduce procurement delays and failed tenders
• Achieve value for money
• Lower the risk of complaints and audit findings
• Deliver contracts on time and to quality

This Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar programme brings these elements together in a practical format, so that participants understand not only what good practice looks like but also how to introduce it in their own setting, with the people and resources they have.

Who Should Attend This Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Training?

This programme is designed for:

• Field epidemiologists and disease surveillance officers
• Public health directors and technical advisors
• Emergency preparedness and response team leads
• Public Health Emergency Operations Centre managers
• National and regional reference laboratory coordinators
• Points of Entry health inspectors and quarantine officers
• Ministry of Health planning and emergency coordination staff
• Project coordinators managing donor-funded health security programmes
• Cross-border health committee representatives and technical specialists
• Procurement officers and managers
• Contract managers and administrators
• Project and programme managers

The programme suits experienced professionals as well as those moving into new responsibilities. Groups that mix institutions and countries are encouraged, because participants learn a great deal from each other’s experience.

Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Training Objectives

Upon successful completion of this Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Training, participants will be able to:

• Apply the third edition of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response guidelines to strengthen national indicator and event-based surveillance systems
• Conduct structured rapid outbreak risk assessments using World Bank and World Health Organization public health evaluation frameworks
• Formulate operational linkage mechanisms between field investigation units, points of entry, and regional reference laboratories
• Establish standard operating procedures for Public Health Emergency Operations Centres during level-graded outbreak activations
• Draft bilateral and regional cross-border disease surveillance and contact tracing protocols aligned with International Health Regulations (2005)
• Design comprehensive multi-hazard public health contingency plans integrating resource mapping and logistics supply chain mechanisms
• Evaluate emergency risk communication strategies to counter infodemics and maintain community trust during infectious disease containment operations
• Explain the procurement cycle and the rules that apply to it
• Prepare a procurement plan linked to project timelines
• Choose a suitable method and approach to the market

Each objective is practised during the programme through exercises, cases or group work, so that participants leave able to do it, not only to describe it.

Programme Contents and Structure

Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Training Methodology

The training employs an adult-learning approach combining technical lectures, interactive plenary debates, and practical small-group working sessions.⁣​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌⁣ Delegates review actual anonymised outbreak data to conduct risk assessments, examine standard operating procedures from active emergency operations centres, and engage in scenario-based simulation exercises. Participants work collaboratively to draft operational documents, facilitating critical peer-to-peer knowledge exchange across national and professional boundaries.

The programme combines:

• Expert-led sessions on current practice
• Regional and international case studies
• Group work and practical exercises
• Simulations and role plays where relevant
• Discussion of participants' own challenges
• Peer learning across institutions and countries
• Practical tools and templates to take back to work
• Daily reflection and action planning

Before the programme, a short pre-assessment helps the facilitators understand each participant’s role and priorities, so that examples and exercises can be adjusted to the group. Each day ends with a short reflection in which participants note what they will apply at work.

Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of this Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Training, participants will be able to:

• Enhanced institutional capability to implement third edition IDSR surveillance requirements
• Validated operational protocols for deploying multidisciplinary rapid outbreak response teams
• Integrated diagnostic referral and reporting pathways connecting local and reference laboratories
• Standard operating procedures for managing public health emergency operations centres under incident command
• Actionable cross-border communication and surveillance protocols for priority epidemic hazards
• Customised draft multi-hazard emergency preparedness and contingency operational plans
• Plan procurement that fits project needs and timelines
• Prepare clear specifications and evaluation criteria

Participants leave with a personal action plan and practical tools they can use in their institution from the first week back. Institutions that send several participants can use the programme to agree shared methods and templates across teams, which makes improvements easier to sustain.

Institutional Application of Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Training

This programme supports organisations in strengthening:

• Procurement planning and strategy
• Evaluation practice
• Contract management
• Complaint handling
• Procurement records and audit readiness

Participants return with practical tools to improve:

• Procurement plans and timelines
• Specifications and evaluation criteria
• Evaluation reports
• Contract monitoring
• Variation and claims management

The programme is built so that learning moves from the classroom into the institution. Participants work on their own processes and documents where possible, and leave with an action plan that their managers can review and support.

Regional Relevance & Application

Europe

European institutions apply procurement and contract management within detailed regulatory frameworks and reform agendas. Participants from Europe can compare their practice with colleagues from other regions and test how established methods work under different conditions.

Africa

Across Africa, ministries, agencies and project teams working in procurement and contract management increasingly operate alongside donor-financed programmes that expect clear systems and evidence. The programme helps participants adapt good practice to the institutions and resources they work with.

Middle East

In the Middle East, national development strategies and diversification plans place growing demands on procurement and contract management. Participants explore how to build the capability these plans need inside public bodies and companies.

Asia

Institutions across Asia combine rapid growth with ambitious modernisation programmes. Participants from Asia can share their experience of scaling systems quickly and learn from approaches used elsewhere.

Pacific

Small island and Pacific states face particular constraints of size, distance and capacity. The programme highlights practical, proportionate approaches to procurement and contract management that suit smaller institutions.

Holding the programme in Zanzibar, Tanzania brings participants together away from their daily pressures, so they can compare how procurement and contract management is handled in different settings. The same programme can also be delivered in-house for one institution, in its own country or online, with cases taken from its current work.

Host Country Profile – Tanzania

Training programmes in Zanzibar suit professionals working in public sector administration, tourism management, marine resources, environmental sustainability, and regional trade.

Studying away from their own country gives participants time to focus, a fresh view of their own institution and the chance to build a network with colleagues from other countries.

Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Training Deliverables

Participants receive support before, during and after the programme, so that preparation, learning and follow-up form one continuous experience.

Before the Programme

• Participant Pre-Assessment
• Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Readiness Assessment
• Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Resource Pack
• Preparatory Reading Materials
• Complimentary Visa Support & Advisory

During the Programme

• Airport Pickup & Welcome Assistance
• Accommodation with Breakfast
• Welcome Networking Dinner
• Risalat Training Kit (Bag, Bottle, Mug, T-Shirt, Cap, Passport Cover, Pens, Notebook, Magnet & Keychain)
• Comprehensive Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar Training Manual
• Procurement Plan Template
• Bid Evaluation Scoring Sheet
• Contract Management Plan Template
• Variation and Claims Register
• Practical Workshops & Simulations
• Group Discussions & Peer Learning
• Daily Lunch and Refreshments
• Full Access to Training Venue Facilities
• Mini Pad / Tablet with Digital Learning Materials
• Field Visit (where applicable)
• Entertaining City Tour

After the Programme

• Certificate of Completion
• Risalat Programme Participation Recognition Award
• Post-Training Reference Materials
• Procurement Records Checklist
• Contract Performance Tracker
• Post-Training Support & Follow-Up Guidance
• Programme Report

Institutions can also request a tailored in-house version of this programme, delivered at their premises or online. Request a proposal.

Common Challenges in Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar, And How This Training Helps

How can institutions plan procurement that matches project needs and timelines?

The programme addresses this directly on the first day (Surveillance Architecture, IDSR Integration, and Early Detection Systems), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions prepare clear specifications and evaluation criteria?

The programme addresses this directly on the second day (Outbreak Risk Assessment, Investigation, and Rapid Response Deployment), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions evaluate bids consistently and defend the decision?

The programme addresses this directly on the third day (Diagnostic Networks, Specimen Logistics, and Laboratory Coordination), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions manage contracts, variations and performance?

The programme addresses this directly on the fourth day (Public Health Emergency Operations Centres and Contingency Planning), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions keep complete records for audit and review?

The programme addresses this directly on the fifth day (Cross-Border Health Security, Regional Protocols, and Action Planning), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where does the Public Emergency Disease Surveillance & Epidemic Preparedness Planning in Zanzibar programme take place?

It runs from 19 Apr 2027 to 23 Apr 2027, in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The registration deadline is shown at the top of this page.

Who should attend?

The programme is designed for field epidemiologists and disease surveillance officers, public health directors and technical advisors, emergency preparedness and response team leads, public Health Emergency Operations Centre managers, and others who want practical skills in procurement and contract management.

Will I receive a certificate?

Yes. Participants who complete the programme receive a Certificate of Completion from Risalat Consultants International.

Can this programme be delivered for our institution only?

Yes. We can deliver a tailored in-house version at your premises, in another city or online, built around your own cases. Use the proposal request on this page.

Do I need prior experience in procurement and contract management?

No specialist background is required beyond experience in a related role. A short pre-assessment helps the facilitators adapt the sessions to the group.

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