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Volume 23, Supplement—December 2017
SUPPLEMENT ISSUE
Global Health Security Supplement
Respond

Establishment of CDC Global Rapid Response Team to Ensure Global Health Security

Tasha Stehling-ArizaComments to Author , Adrienne Lefevre, Dinorah Calles, Kpandja Djawe, Richard Garfield, Michael Gerber, Margherita Ghiselli, Coralie Giese, Ashley L. Greiner, Adela Hoffman, Leigh Ann Miller, Lisa Moorhouse, Carlos Navarro-Colorado, James Walsh, Dante Bugli, and Cyrus Shahpar
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Main Article

Table

Challenges encountered during response to the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa and GRRT mitigation strategies

Challenge GRRT strategy
Limited in-country capacity to detect and respond to disease outbreaks (1)
 Support the development of national outbreak detection and response systems
Wide range of technical expertise required to address needs of a large outbreak response (1) Recruit team members with a wide range of technical expertise and experience
Train responders in multiple technical areas for high-risk diseases
Establishing working partnerships with governments and partner organizations for more efficient coordination (1,19,20) Train responders on working with partner organizations, incident management systems, cultural sensitivity, and foreign languages
Recruit dedicated, ready responders who can mobilize for up to 6 mo for stronger partner relationships and improved coordination
Short mobilizations (traditionally 30 d) and frequent rotation of staff disrupted continuity of response activities (19,20) Recruit dedicated responders who are available and ready to mobilize for up to 6 mo if needed
Expand the typical mobilization length of those in leadership roles
Develop best practices and systems for information management in field response
Responder preparation and readiness (19) Strengthen safety, security, and responder wellness training through a GRRT orientation
Support continuous learning by offering frequent technical trainings on priority topics
Track responder international travel–related mobilization requirements, training, and clearance compliance
Obtain supervisor preapproval for mobilizations during on-call months
Identifying appropriate responders (19)
 Roster GRRT responders and tracking skills and experience to match staffing needs
Limited foreign language capacity (20)
 Develop a program to develop and validate foreign language capacity
Logistical support for field efforts (19) Roster a group of dedicated and surge logisticians who can mobilize to provide support directly to responders in the field or coordinate with Atlanta-based logistics personnel to provide support

*GRRT, Global Rapid Response Team.

Main Article

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