Response to an alleged bio-attack capacity to support national - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Response to an alleged bio-attack – capacity to support national responses through the European Union

• Dr. Christiane Hoehn

Office of the EU representative on non-proliferation and disarmament Madrid 17 June 2010

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Content 1) CBRN Action Plan 2) Threat analysis and early warning 3) Crisis response 4) Health security

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EU CBRN Action Plan

• Adopted in November 2009
• Increased attention to CBRN issues,

devastating consequences recognized

• Open process: Private sector involved in

developing recommendations and to be consulted for implementation/further policy development

• Building on existing practices/instruments
• Primary MS responsibility to protect population

but EU solidarity, EU supportive role

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EU CBRN Action Plan

• All-hazards approach
• Goals: Reduce threat and possible

consequences of incident

• CBRN Advisory Group for

implementation: MS experts and where appropriate private sector, bio sub-group

• COM to launch CBRN Resilience

Programme: pool civil protection activities

• f the plan

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EU CBRN Action Plan

• Prevention: EU list of high risk CBRN materials,

strengthening security of materials and facilities, enhance control, culture, reporting of incidents, transport security

• Detection: scenario-based, establish testing

and certification schemes, minimum detection standards, awareness-raising, training

• Preparedness and response: emergency

planning, counter-measure capacity, information flows, criminal investigations

• Improve training, info exchange, communication,

research, strengthen knowledge in MS

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Threat analysis and early warning

• 2008 EUROPOL tasked to create CBRN

database– CBRN terrorism-related events and CBRN products and materials

• SITCEN: Regular analysis of proliferation risks,

intelligence input from MS, round the clock monitoring of incidents, alerts to MS, can set up emergency teams

• Special early warning system in health sector,

including European Centre for Disease Control (also epidemiological surveillance)

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Crisis response

• Political coordination: EU Emergency and Crisis Coordination

Arrangements (CCA)

• supports overall political coordination
• information exchange
• web-site
• 2010 exercise: bio-attack – testing arrangements to ensure quick and

adequate crisis response/information flows and identifying policy gaps

• EU Mechanism for Civil Protection: Monitoring and Information Center:

to pool immediate civil protection and medical assistance in Member States – inside and outside EU (information, coordination, communication), e.g. the mobilisation of pre-registered CBRN modules, to countries affected by major emergencies

• Health sector: emergency and other mechanisms linking Health Ministries
• f the Member States and DG SANCO, daily during H1N1, e.g. early

warning and response system for communicable diseases.

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Health security

Health security and pandemic preparedness planning remain primarily a Member State competence – policy decisions are for Member States – but it is necessary to strengthen coordination, information-sharing and communication

EU Programme of Cooperation in Preparedness and Response to Biological and Chemical Agent Attacks (2001) Objectives: 1) Mechanism for information exchange, consultation and co-

• rdination

2) Capability for inventory, surveillance, detection/diagnosis and identification 3) Medicines’ stocks and health services database / stand-by facilities for provision of medicines, other medical resources and health care specialists 4) Binding rules / guidance, 5) Links with third countries and international organisations (e.g. EU Membership in the G 7 Global Health Security Initiative).

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EU Health Security Committee

• Created by EU Health Ministers in 2001
• Mandate: Decision-making on preparedness planning and crisis response

management in health emergencies; includes since 2007 CBRN, pandemic influenca

• Composition: High level representatives of the EU Health Ministers and the

European Commission.

EU Network for the epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases

• in operation since 1999
• Early Warning and Response System (EWRS)
• Network Committee: regulatory Comittee
• Amended in 2007/08 : implementation of WHO International Health Regulations

European Centre for Disease Control (operational since 2005):

• response system,
• scientific opinions,
• technical assistance,
• preparedness for new health threats

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EU Health Security Programme: Achievements

• Rapid Alert System for Biological and Chemical Attacks and Threats;
• Lists of biological and chemical agents that might be used for terrorist attacks;
• Platform for laboratory cooperation;
• Clinical guidelines for case recognition and management (twelve adopted and published);
• European Medicines Evaluation Agency’s guidance on medicines and vaccines for

treatment; e.g. on the use of antidotes to agents of chemical terrorism

• Improved inter-operability of emergency plans;
• Modelling of outbreaks and sharing of data for simulations;
• Directory of experts for interventions-assistance
• EU wide exercises to test communication systems and preparedness planning
• Preparedness and response planning.

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Preparedness and Response Planning

• Information management (surveillance,

monitoring, intelligence, sampling, detection, diagnosis, analysis, correlation, identification)

• Communications (systems, procedures,

command and control, obligations for information and consultation, media, expert groups, public)

• Scientific advice (procurement, setting criteria

and triggers for actions, determine actions / resources and ways to implement them)

• Cross-sector preparedness

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Emergency preparedness

• Training

– Regional training workshops with public health

experts from Member States

– Joint training workshops of public health and law

enforcement experts

• Exercises

– Regular exercises with Member States, candidate

and EEA/EFTA countries, and international partners

• European Commission will organise a

communication exercise of the G7 Global Health Security Initiative in 2010

– Plan to establish an exercise repository

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Emergency preparedness: Biological agents

• Influenza pandemic preparedness and

response planning

– update planned in the light of recent epidemiological threats and new IHR

• Biological incident response and

environmental sampling

– EU guidance – Regional workshops planned

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Related activities

• Safety of the Food Chain: Rapid Alert System; general

plan for food / feed crisis management in the EU

• Animal health: Survey / control of animal diseases of

major health importance in the EU; identification of the source of an outbreak of disease; national contingency plans; OIE reporting; EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

• Security research funded by the EU – development of

technology to track, trace, identify and neutralise CBRN explosives

• EU biosafety legislation
• EU norms in bio-safety: CEN voluntary laboratory

standards and standards for medical devices

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Conclusion

• Important topic for EU, increased attention: EU has done

some effort, we will have to do more (keep pace with potential threat!).

• Added value of EU:
• Bio-threats have more cross-border impact than many other

threats – hence coordination is key to success.

• Platform for political and practical coordination and

information exchange,

• Strengthening capacities
• Assistance in case of attack / outbreak
• Implementation key, many measures remain to be developed

– adapting response to the challenges