In June, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) hosted a regional training on epidemic preparedness in communities (also known as 'EPIC') with support from the Danish Red Cross and IFRC through the Programmatic Partnership, funded by the EU.
The training brought together National Societies and health authority representatives form Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia to foster multi-sectoral and cross-border collaboration on epidemic preparedness using a One Health approach.
It featured diverse sessions, from technical discussions on health security frameworks to practical demonstrations of community-based tools incusing the Epidemic Control for Volunteers (ECV) flip chart and epidemic control games.
Countries shared their experiences of epidemic preparedness—with representatives from Nepal talking about how they've integrated a One Health approach into epidemic preparedness, and Indonesia colleagues sharing their community-based surveillance model. BDRCS led sessions on how it had incorporated community-based surveillance efforts into the National Cholera Control Plan—demonstrating how community actions can effectively tie in to national strategies. They also arranged a field visit for participants to Sylhet to spend time with communities supported by BDRCS volunteers to prepare for and prevent epidemics.
On the final day of training, participants took part in a collaborative planning exercise to jointly develop strategies for epidemic preparedness, setting the foundation for continued cross-country learning and cooperation.