Problem: The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) has responded to more than 100 outbreaks during the past 23 years. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic presented unprecedented operational constraints that challenged GOARN’s core mission to rapidly deploy technical experts from its partners to support national in-country responses to public health emergencies. This paper describes the type and duration of GOARN deployments to and within the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Western Pacific Region during the COVID-19 pandemic. Context: Despite strict border closures and ever-changing vaccination and quarantine requirements, GOARN continued to deploy international technical assistance to strengthen COVID-19 response operations within the Region, as requested. Action: Data were analysed from the GOARN Knowledge Platform about deployments to and within the Region for responses to the COVID-19 pandemic between 1 January 2020 and 5 May 2023. Data were available about deployment duration, technical role requested, country or area, partner organization and deployed expert’s demographics. Feedback from postdeployment briefings with the experts was collected and thematically analysed to determine ongoing needs and gaps to help improve deployment operations. Outcome: There were 72 experts deployed on 89 missions through GOARN to 12 countries and areas in the Region, for a total of 4558 field days, to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion: The volume of requests for assistance from countries and areas in the Region to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered a deficit in human resources available for domestic response to outbreaks and the reliance on international assistance. Strengthening the in-country capacity of ready-to-respond public health emergency staff is critical to meet the needs for outbreak response. The ongoing demand for technical experts to support national responses means that these lessons may have immediate implications.

Objective: We explored the experiences of women in senior or leadership roles in navigating and leading during acute public health emergencies. Methods: Women leaders in the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region attending the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network’s Outbreak Response Leadership Training (11–18 September 2024) were invited to participate in this phenomenological study. Eleven interviews were conducted with training attendees and observational data were gathered. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to identify key themes. Results: Four themes associated with women-centric experiences in public health emergency response were identified: disproportionate expectations in the workplace; the use of authoritarian decision-making during planning and implementation; encompassing different perspectives and leadership styles compared to men; and requesting additional opportunities and equitable prospects for career growth. Four themes that reflect non-gender-exclusive challenges experienced during emergency responses were also detailed. Themes observed were related to: barriers to efficiency; consequences of working within this field; and needs and necessities during emergency response. Discussion: This study highlights both gender-specific and systemic challenges experienced by women leaders in public health emergency responses, revealing how sociocultural norms and operational barriers intersect during times of crisis. We identified opportunities to assist women leaders through the recognition and promotion of different leadership styles, establishing a support network for women, and addressing systemic and organizational barriers that impact women.

This Perspective is written by participants and a training faculty member in the GOARN Tier 2 outbreak scenario training held in New Delhi, India, in 2022, hosted by WHO’s Regional Offices for South-East Asia and the Western Pacific. It provides a general overview of the GOARN outbreak scenario training programme, participants' perspectives and suggestions for future programmes.

As seen through the COVID-19 pandemic, effective and impactful communications are the cornerstone to improved public health. Communications increase awareness about a health issue or solution and play a significant role in shifting social norms by influencing attitudes. However, scientists and academic researchers remain separate from the journalists and media that report to the wider community. We provide our perspective on the need to merge and weave the media and science worlds together for greater impact.