International Day of Epidemic Preparedness 2026

Ideas for schools and colleges

• Trace an information route. Identify the public authority, the school contact and the channels used to communicate updates to families.
• Practise source checking. Compare a current official page with an old screenshot. Discuss why the original source and publication date matter.
• Explore public-health roles. Learn about the different work of researchers, laboratory teams, health workers and community communicators.
• Review accessible communication. Ask whether key information is available in formats and languages suited to the school community.

Workplace planning ideas

A workplace can check that its continuity arrangements have named owners and current contact details. Select a simple scenario, such as an important team member being unavailable, and walk through how a routine service would continue. Record gaps without treating the exercise as a prediction of what will happen.

Review how staff receive official updates and how questions about absence, working arrangements or existing support are handled. Managers should know where the organisation’s approved guidance is located. Clinical questions belong with qualified health professionals, while employment questions should follow the organisation’s appropriate advice routes.

Consider colleagues who work remotely, on shifts or without regular computer access. A communication plan that reaches only office staff may miss people with equally important roles. Ask those teams which channel is most useful and test whether the proposed information can actually be found.

Community activities and follow-up

A community group could work with an appropriate local public-health service to explain where residents can find reliable information. Check whether existing resources need translation, a clearer location or a more accessible format before creating a new leaflet. Any changes to official health wording should be agreed with its owner.

After a planning session, assign one practical improvement and a date to review it. This could be updating a contact list, clarifying who checks official guidance or adding another communication route. Small, maintained improvements are more useful than an elaborate document nobody knows how to use. Share the revised arrangements with the people expected to follow them and check that responsibilities are understood.

Related occasions include World Health Day and International Human Solidarity Day.

Source check: 23 October 2026. The annual date, purpose and WHO facilitation role were verified against UN resolution A/RES/75/27. No 2026 theme is assumed.

Featured image: Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

What does the day recognise?

The General Assembly proclaimed the day in 2020 through resolution A/RES/75/27. The resolution emphasises learning from past epidemics, sharing knowledge and preventing disruption to basic services. It invites the World Health Organization to facilitate the observance with other relevant organisations.

Preparedness includes people, communication and institutions as well as scientific knowledge. A useful local activity can examine responsibilities and information routes without attempting to predict a particular outbreak. Advice about a current health situation should come from the relevant public-health authority.

Begin with a clear question

Choose one issue that the setting can realistically examine. How does a school update families when public-health guidance changes? Where does a small organisation keep its continuity plan? How can a community group communicate with people who do not use its main digital channel?

Keep the exercise proportionate to participants’ roles. An awareness session for volunteers need not become a clinical training course. It can help people understand where decisions come from, who is responsible for updating information and how questions reach the right person.