A (potential) Public Health threat or event can serve as a test of system functionality and should be qualitatively reviewed as soon as possible after the event.

The WHO Collaborating Centre has developed expertise in After Action Reviews (AAR’s) of real-life events (a.o. MERS-CoV, Ebola, polio, etc.) and developed an internal AAR standard. This method frequently creates opportunities for the Collaborating Centre to continuously improve national processes regarding the adequate response to (potential) Public Health Emergencies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO developed the Intra Action Review (IAR) methodology for in-action review of ongoing response efforts, with findings of an IAR directly contributing to improving the ongoing COVID-19 response. The Collaborating Centre has been able to capitalise on previous experience with AARs and has implemented IARs at national level for PoE and broader for the Caribbean OCTs. Furthermore, the WHO CC has developed a methodology for prioritising topics for review, which has been applied to the IARs of the Dutch Caribbean OCTs. The WHO CC has shared experience and expertise on AARs/IARs through (bilateral) consultations with countries, ECDC, and WHO.