The Tanzanian National Government Pandemic Disaster Response conference and exercise opened March 7, 2011 in Arusha, Tanzania.

The event convened with remarks from several guest speakers who spoke on how imperative disaster preparedness and response is to the security of Tanzania.

During his welcoming remarks, the chief of Security Cooperation for the U.S. Embassy to Tanzania, Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Balisky, discussed the critical importance of cooperation between national militaries and civil authority leaders, as well as international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and other civil society groups, all of whom must work together to mitigate and recover from a pandemic disaster.

The exercise itself is an example of the power of collaboration. It is hosted by the government of Tanzania, organized by the U.S. Africa Command, supported by the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In addition to representatives from all levels of the Tanzanian government, the five-day event brings together more than 100 professionals from many diverse organizations such as the World Food Programme, the National Disaster Operations Center in Kenya, the National Emergency Management Agency of Nigeria, the World Health Organization, the Ghana Ministry of Defense, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, and UNICEF. All will take part and contribute in this exercise.

“This exercise is designed to strengthen the government of Tanzania’s national preparedness and response plan, which will be the guiding document during a severe pandemic complex emergency,” said Balisky.

During the morning remarks, John Power, the East Africa Regional Deputy Director for USAID, spoke of the “Whole of Government” approach to a pandemic response.

At the end of 2008, using funds provided by U.S. Congress, USAID signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense to fund the Pandemic Response Program. This program established a close working relationship among USAID and U.S. Africa Command and Pacific Command to enhance their foreign partner military capacity in these two geographic regions in order to respond to pandemics.

“What is different about this program is that the Pandemic Response Program, although implemented by the U.S. military, is structured more like a traditional USAID project with a focus on long-term sustainable results. It provides an excellent example of a new whole of government approach where you will begin to see much closer linkages between the efforts of American diplomats, military staff, and development professionals in selected countries, including Tanzania,” said Power.

“Our Pandemic Response Program will continue to have a regional focus to help improve the capacity for regional collaboration in the event of a complex humanitarian emergency,” said Brigadier General William Glasgow, deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa.

“Let us not forget, that the 2009 H1N1 outbreak highlighted the critical importance of a holistic approach required of government, civil society and the military to mitigate the effects of a complex humanitarian emergency like a severe pandemic outbreak, hence, the purpose of this exercise this week,” said Glasgow.

The role of U.S. AFRICOM’s Pandemic Response Program is to assist in strengthening African partner military nations’ capacity to respond to a pandemic in support of the national pandemic preparedness and response plan. To this end, AFRICOM’s overall objectives for the pandemic response program are that senior and mid-level military leaders are prepared to support their nation’s plan in disaster management and humanitarian assistance, with a particular focus on severe pandemics. It is also AFRICOM’s goal that each military in USAID’s targeted pandemic preparedness countries have a developed, detailed contingency plan which directly supports the national preparedness response plans to an influenza pandemic disaster.

The close of the first day ended with a visit to the Tanzanian National Food Reserve Agency in Arusha. The Pandemic Disaster Response conference will continue tomorrow with plenary talks, facilitated lectures, and lessons-learned discussions. On Wednesday, the exercise portion begins and will continue through Friday.