Table 4 Summary of participant qualitative feedback on exercises

What was most useful about the exercises?

● Helped to understand the extent of the threat

● Raising awareness of challenges faced

● Showed the importance of having solid plans in writing

● Assisted in determining priorities

● Demonstrated the importance of regional cooperation

● Showed how multiple sectors of government should cooperate in planning and response

● Improved confidence and team building

● Sharing information and joint learning

● Identification of potential solutions to challenges

What are the most important actions that should be taken based on the exercise?

● More frequent communications with partners

● Development of better team preparations for response

● Developing a detailed plan to follow up with gaps identified

● Take planning more seriously and start working on it now

● Delegate tasks better across all responsible parties

● Significantly revise and improve existing plans

● Better training of all health workers

● Improve public awareness of the threat

● Continue to meet regularly and assess improvements

● Encourage more collaboration between animal and human health personnel

● Create a regional rapid response team

● Harmonize communication materials across all partners

What suggestions do you have to improve future exercises?

● Involve more private sector participants

● Include more NGOs as participants

● Better sharing of plans across all sectors and locations prior to the exercise

● Hold more workshops and meetings prior to the exercises

● Brief non-health sector participants better about disease etiology and transmission prior to the exercise

● Do more to link theoretical responses to practical responses

● Develop “train the trainer” approaches in the exercise

● Provide more time to discuss each topic

● Provide more opportunities for non-health sector participants to participate