As the world continues to recover from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must remain prepared and alert for the next one. In Turkmenistan, the national pandemic preparedness plan was developed following the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) workshop in March 2025.
Considering lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the workshop and simulation exercise on seasonal influenza vaccination in April 2025, the next step is to test the plan and address gaps. The upcoming tabletop simulation exercise will assess the plan’s suitability in the current context and identify opportunities for improvement. The objectives are:
- to strengthen respiratory pathogens pandemic planning;
- to review, update and finalize the draft plan, with a focus on respiratory pathogens; and
- to test specific components of the plan including multisectoral coordination, management of public health and social measures, risk communication and community engagement, and triggers for escalating/de-escalating measures.
The expected output is a report that includes the main updates required for the plan, recommendations to strengthen capacities and systems for respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness, and a description of future activities such as meetings or exercises that will ensure iterative reviews and updates of plans and systems, and continued stakeholder engagement.
Expected outcomes are a validated and updated plan that covers respiratory pathogen planning, including preparedness and response actions, and coordinated and informed stakeholders.