National Emergency Preparedness And Response Plan

Objectives

Establish a coordinated, effective and functional emergency preparedness and response mechanism at every level of Liberia’s health system, capable of addressing disease outbreaks and other public health threats before, during and after emergencies.[1][2][3]The plan applies an all-hazards, risk-management approach and aligns preparedness and response with International Health Regulations core capacities to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats.[4][5]

• Strengthen national health security through clear roles, responsibilities, authority, coordination and accountability across government departments, agencies, partners and other institutions.[3][6]
• Prepare for immediately notifiable epidemic-prone diseases, conditions and events identified in Liberia’s 2021 Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response guidelines, including unusual illness clusters, deaths and animal or human exposure events.[3][7]
• Improve early detection, disease reporting, risk assessment, surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, outbreak investigation, contact tracing and proportionate public health and social measures.[4][8][9]
• Protect health workers, vulnerable populations and essential health services while strengthening case management, referral systems, infection prevention and control, mental health and psychosocial support, logistics, vaccination and research.[10][11][12][13]
• Build community trust and resilience through risk communication, community engagement, misinformation management, tailored information materials and collaboration with civil society, media and community leaders.[14][8]
• Mobilise national and external financial and technical resources, support continuous learning and review the plan annually and after events where necessary.[3]

Implementation

Implement the plan flexibly over 2023 to 2027 through a county-led and nationally supported model, operating across Liberia’s 15 counties and 93 health districts and adapting to differing local capacities.[7]The National Public Health Institute of Liberia leads implementation in consultation with the Ministry of Health, supported by government, communities, academic institutions, civil society, private-sector organisations and national and international partners.[2][7]

• Coordinate multisectoral action through the National Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee, Public Health Emergency Management Committees, the Incident Management System, the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre and Rapid Response Teams.[5][15]
• Use the National Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee as the highest decision-making body when the Incident Management System is inactive, chaired by the Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia and convened weekly.[15]
• Establish Public Health Emergency Management Committees at national, county and district levels to develop, oversee and monitor preparedness strategies, action plans and procedures.[15]
• Operate the Incident Management System as a scalable structure at national, county and district levels, covering management, operations, planning, logistics, and administration and finance.[16][17]
• Activate the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre according to watch, alert and response modes and incident-specific thresholds, with Level 1 routine monitoring, Level 2 augmented operations and Level 3 full-scale response.[16][18][19]
• Deploy national, county and district Rapid Response Teams to verify alerts, investigate events, initiate control measures and manage cases, with national teams activated within 24 hours when requested or necessary.[20][21]
• Conduct risk and capacity assessments, gap analyses, contingency planning, business continuity planning, plan reviews, training and simulation exercises to identify weaknesses and improve readiness.[22][23]
• Pre-position medicines, personal protective equipment, vaccines, laboratory supplies and other countermeasures; maintain stock monitoring, supply-chain capacity, transport, referral pathways and surge arrangements.[6][4][12]
• Maintain surveillance and reporting through Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response, event-based surveillance, laboratory reporting, community-based detection and information sharing across national and subnational structures.[22][16][10]
• Review epidemiological and surveillance bulletins weekly, conduct intra-action and after-action reviews, prepare periodic situation reports, monitor resource use and implement corrective actions following exercises or prolonged emergencies.[15][24][25]
• Mobilise emergency funds and resources through finance plans, accessible emergency budget arrangements, partner support and stock replenishment mechanisms; the supplied text does not provide total budget amounts or funding allocations.[14][22][20]

Monitoring & Evaluation

The plan establishes a multi-level monitoring, evaluation and accountability system centred on integrated surveillance, risk assessment, incident management, routine reporting, operational reviews and corrective action. It applies across preparedness, response, recovery and return to routine activities.[3][15][24]

• Maintain Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response, Animal Disease Surveillance Response, event-based surveillance, syndromic surveillance and community-based reporting to detect epidemic-prone diseases, unusual events and epidemiological changes rapidly.[22][23][18][21]
• Require immediate reporting of specified diseases, conditions and events, including unexplained illness or death clusters, animal or human exposure events and other unusual public health signals.[3][7]
• Use mandatory reporters to communicate suspected, probable and confirmed cases and deaths through established procedures, while reporting sites apply outbreak and event thresholds.[6][26]
• Review the national epidemiological and surveillance bulletin weekly and use reported disease trends and events to determine interventions.[15]
• Maintain 24-hour routine monitoring under Public Health Emergency Operations Centre Level 1 activation, and use event-based and syndromic surveillance, preparedness levels and population vulnerability to determine escalation.[18]
• Track response performance through joint assessments, continuous Incident Management System monitoring and regular implementation reviews by the Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit.[18][17]
• Conduct county outbreak investigations within 6 to 12 hours of notification, verify rumours and unusual events, analyse the effectiveness of control measures, prepare investigation reports and contribute to final outbreak evaluations.[20]
• Maintain quarterly reporting on availability and replenishment of emergency stocks and supplies.[20]
• Produce periodic situation reports documenting response activities, changes, effectiveness, operational challenges, gaps and recommended improvements, supported where relevant by epidemiological curves, maps, analytical tables and case line lists.[24]
• Monitor resources supplied and used during responses, including stock consumption, supply availability, equipment and ambulance coordination.[6][24]
• Monitor laboratory activity through daily standardised line-list reporting, prompt communication of priority results, external quality assurance, error detection and corrective and preventive action.[10]
• Monitor infection prevention and control, case-management quality, service availability, logistics, vaccine deployment, access barriers, service disruption and community health outcomes through facility-to-national oversight structures.[11][12][13]
• Implement monitoring and evaluation protocols for risk communication and community engagement, including assessment of community contexts, behaviours, misinformation responses and content effectiveness.[8]
• Review public health and social measures against acceptability, effectiveness, feasibility, health-system effects and public health risk, using epidemiological, laboratory, social science and modelling evidence.[27][9]
• Review the plan comprehensively each year, update it after events where necessary, and review national and county plans twice yearly or after each event.[3][28]
• Conduct after-action reviews, use in-action reviews for protracted emergencies, document findings and implement corrective action plans following exercises, evaluations and prolonged events.[28][29][25]

Accountability is structured through the Incident Management System responsibility matrix, defined reporting lines, Public Health Emergency Management Committees and technical pillars.[18][17][15]The supplied text does not provide a consolidated quantitative indicator framework, numerical performance targets, standard reporting templates, accountability sanctions or a single evaluation timetable.[15][19][29]

Costing & Financing

Financing is positioned as a core preparedness and response function, with emphasis on rapid access to emergency funds, dedicated budget arrangements, resource mobilisation, expenditure control, stock management and partner support.[14][22][26]

• Provide sufficient operational funds and maintain an allocated, easily accessible emergency preparedness and response budget line to accelerate response activities.[14]
• Develop a finance plan that identifies funding sources, release conditions, ongoing preparedness costs and emergency control costs.[22]
• Secure governmental endorsement and financial support for plan adoption, testing and implementation.[4]
• Plan for emergency funds, surge resources, specialised supplies, stockpiles, isolation capacity and workforce protection within contingency arrangements.[6][4]
• Mobilise national, external and partner resources, with partners able to contribute financial, logistical, technical and human support.[3][28][29]
• Map human, logistical and financial resources, define surge capacity and mobilise funds for the development and sustainability of Public Health Emergency Operations Centres.[15]
• Estimate, track and approve response expenditure, coordinate funding from all sources, and oversee cash flow and expenditure through administration and finance functions.[26][17]
• Pre-position, replenish and monitor emergency medicines, supplies, equipment and personal protective equipment, recognising that international travel restrictions may worsen shortages.[14][30][20]
• Use pooled procurement, including COVAX, and partnerships to support vaccine access, research, development and manufacturing.[30]
• Develop a compensation policy for epidemic-prone and zoonotic diseases, potentially covering response personnel and destruction of animals or property, with defined payment levels, methods and timing.[22]
• Develop costed risk communication response plans and guidance.[8]
• Use a budget template covering eleven pillars: coordination and monitoring; surveillance and outbreak investigation; risk communication; points of entry; laboratories; infection prevention and control; case management; logistics and supply chains; essential health services; vaccination; and research, innovation and evidence.[25]

The supplied text does not populate the budget template or specify total budgets, itemised allocations, currencies, financing periods, funding gaps, costing methodology, quantified resource requirements or economic assumptions.[25][31]It recognises that stringent public health and social measures can create substantial, unquantified social and economic costs, particularly in fragile and humanitarian settings.[27]