Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The World Health Organization (WHO) completed a two-day high-level simulation, Exercise Polaris II, focused on responding to a fictional bacterial outbreak with global spread. The exercise brought together 26 countries and territories, 600 health emergency experts, and more than 25 partner organizations to test pandemic preparedness and emergency response capabilities. Activities included activating emergency workforce structures, coordinating information flow, and collaborating with partners and WHO under realistic conditions.
Building on the previous year's Exercise Polaris I—which addressed a fictional virus—participating countries activated emergency coordination frameworks to share information, align policies, and scale up their workforce as needed. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that the exercise highlighted the critical importance of global cooperation in health emergencies, underscoring the role of the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) in fostering cross-border coordination.
The simulation put two key WHO frameworks into practice: the GHEC framework, published in June 2025, guiding countries on strengthening health workforces based on sovereignty, equity, and solidarity; and the National Health Emergency Alert and Response Framework, issued in October 2025, which outlines coordination systems and actions for effective emergency responses at various levels. The exercise also explored AI-enabled tools to support workforce organization and planning.
Officials noted that translating plans into real-life action was a critical goal. Edenilo Baltazar Barreira Filho, Director of the Public Health Emergencies Department at Brazil’s Ministry of Health, stated that plans are only valuable if they perform in practice. The exercise also allowed for coordination of technical expertise and surge support across multiple regional and global health organizations, including the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and Médecins Sans Frontières.