Mass gatherings, like sporting events or religious pilgrimages, are highly visible events attended by tens of thousands of people. They can pose public health risks and strain the public health resources of the hosting community, city or country. They require considerable preparedness and response capabilities on the part of the host. WHO supports Member States for the full cycle of an event.
Before an event, we support countries to conduct risk assessments, enhance surveillance for early detection of public health threats, develop and test contingency plans and with capacity building and legacy planning.
During an event, we respond to emergency alerts, share information with host countries, event organizers and partners, coordinate to monitor and assess public health risks and document challenges and successes to drive future improvement.
After an event, we help countries to evaluate health outcomes, document lessons learned and provide insights to improve future mass gathering planning, health infrastructure and capacities in host countries.
This webinar is the first in a series of seminars focused on managing public health risks in mass gatherings. The topic of the first seminar is sporting events, while upcoming sessions will cover other types of mass gatherings, including religious, cultural, and political events.
Speakers
Dr Nedret Emiroglu, Director, Country Readiness Strengthening Department, WHO
Dr Ninglan Wang, Unit Head, Border Health and Mass Gatherings, Country Readiness Strengthening Department, WHO
Country experiences sharing:
- Barbados: T20 World Cup 2024
- France: 2024 Paris Olympics
- Qatar: FIFA World Cup 2022.