Health Resilience in the Eastern Partnership
Enhancing preparedness and collaboration to address major public health threats
Health Resilience in the Eastern Partnership is a three-year initiative (2025–2027), funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), which aims at strengthening health systems in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine – the EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries.
ECDC’s role
Throughout this initiative, ECDC provides its expertise to EaP countries to support their preparedness and response capacities related to serious infectious threats and public health crises.
The approach consists in conducting, with the countries themselves, a review of the emergency public health systems, through workshops, simulation exercises, regional training sessions, online webinars, or other types of bilateral or peer-assessments and exchanges. The observations made will further guide which targeted capacity-building efforts should be organised and implemented.
Health system resilience and preparedness will also be enhanced by fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing on regional risks, common challenges, and constructive solutions among a community of practice made of professionals nominated by their respective national authorities.
Overall aim
To strengthen the health resilience of the EaP countries to major cross-border health threats.
Key objectives
- Assess and enhance public health emergency capacities of the EaP countries to respond effectively to major acute cross-border public health emergencies
- Develop interconnectedness among the EaP countries and increase contextualised knowledge and tools on health resilience and preparedness
Main outputs
- Regional simulation exercises
- Establishment of a regional community of practice for experts, stakeholders, and policy advisers who are part of the EaP’s public health emergency systems
- Thematic webinars for the established community of practice
- Capacity-building workshops
- Elaboration and dissemination of an EaP public health preparedness compendium
Project timeframe
2025 – 2027
Overall, the Health Resilience in the Eastern Partnership funded by the EU Commission tackles three structural pillars:
- Public health preparedness and response
- Mental health
- Health workforce
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) leads on public health preparedness, while the WHO Regional Office for Europe implements the mental health and health workforce components.