17 November 2025, Manama, Bahrain – To support the Ministry of Health, between 10 and 12 November, the World Health Organization (WHO) facilitated a 3-day simulation exercise for health security preparedness capacities.
Participants during the simulation exercises. Photo credit: WHO/WHO Bahrain
Ensuring readiness to detect, assess and respond to public health events is a priority for Member States under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005).
The monitoring and evaluation framework of IHR consists of mandatory State Parties annual reporting – countries submit an annual State Party Self-Assessment Annual Report (SPAR) to the World Health Assembly on the implementation of IHR core capacities – and 3 voluntary instruments, joint external evaluation, after-action review and simulation exercises (SimEx).
The SimEx brought together 25 delegates from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture, Primary Health Care Centres, Government Hospitals, the National Communication Centre and Bahrain Airport Company to test health security preparedness in line with IHR.
Exercises involved interactive and practical scenarios on stakeholder coordination for public health events prevention, detection and response, and aimed to strengthen Bahrain’s annual SPAR score.
Participants conduct hands-on exercises during the training. Photo credit: WHO/WHO Bahrain
At the conclusion of the exercise, attendees were provided with a platform for sustainable dialogue and follow-up exercises to promote consistency and coordination.
This is the second training exercise in a series of simulations. The first, held in 2023, focused on the training of trainers for health security capacities. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, where disasters, displacement and instability are defining features of the public health landscape, the exercise marked a crucial milestone in advancing regional health security.
By strengthening preparedness and coordination, Bahrain reaffirmed its commitment to protecting health across the Region.
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WHO supports Bahrain in health security preparedness: training of trainers simulation exercises
