In September 2022, Namibia joined other Member States in the WHO African Region to implement the Emergency Preparedness and Response Flagship (EPR) Initiative aimed at strengthening, emergency preparedness and response, disease surveillance, including laboratory capacities of countries across Africa. In line with the implementation of EPR flagship initiative, one of the key components calls for member states to have database of surge staff trained in emergency management and ready for deployment within 24 -48 hours to respond to public health events in country and beyond.