PAHO conducts a series of webinars to strengthen national capacity for radiation emergency response

Washington, D.C., October 6, 2025 (PAHO) - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) conducted a series of webinars aimed at strengthening the health sector's preparedness to respond to radiation emergencies, in coordination with national nuclear energy authorities, national emergency systems, and other first-response organizations.

Strengthening the capacity to respond to radiological and nuclear emergencies remains one of the main challenges for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. This capacity requires that countries be able to detect, assess, and respond promptly and in a coordinated manner to such emergencies, in line with the safety requirements established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the relevant provisions of the International Health Regulations (IHR). In this context, PAHO's Health Emergencies Department organized this training series to contribute to the development of these essential competencies across the Region.

The series brought together professionals from ten Latin American countries-Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Paraguay-and was conducted in two sessions.

The first webinar, held on September 5, brought together 110 participants and focused on key IHR aspects related to this type of threat, the use of PAHO's guidance for completing the SPAR self-assessment tool, as well as procedures for event notification and verification through the National IHR Focal Points (NFPs).

The second webinar, held on October 3 with 70 participants, featured presentations from the Ministries of Health of El Salvador and Honduras, which shared their experiences in coordination and planning for radiation emergency response. The session also included a presentation on the capacities required at the prehospital and hospital levels to provide specialized medical care in such events.

As part of the technical cooperation that PAHO provides to its Member States, a technical note on preparedness for prehospital and hospital response to radiological emergencies was developed, shared with the participants, and will be published by the Organization at a later date.

The experiences shared, together with the technical tools presented during this webinar series, will contribute to the continued strengthening of national capacity for preparedness and response. Through these actions, PAHO reaffirms its commitment to supporting countries in the Region in developing more coordinated and effective health systems to address these types of threats.