The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Public Health Network and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) organised the risk communication workshop, How can we be better prepared for the next global health threat? Planning and implementing emergency risk communication,7-8 September 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. Over 60 experts from 35 ASEM partners participated to discuss how to integrate risk communication into public health emergency preparedness cycle and what capacities, capabilities and competences are required to implement Emergency Risk Communication (ERC).

The keynote speeches were delivered by Dr Chris NELSON from Harvard University and Dr Gaya GAMHEWAGE from the World Health Organization. There were presentations on 2 case studies: MERS-Cov in Korea and Dengue in Portugal, followed by working group discussions to identify topics and challenges in achieving objectives of effective planning and implementing ERC.

Total 6 challenges were identified, which were addressed using several scenarios: Community Engagement; Monitoring and Evaluation; Uncertainty Management; ERC Integration in Preparedness Cycle; Political Interface; and Resources.