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A Spreading Plague

A Spreading Plague was a pandemic preparedness exercise that took place on February 14, 2019 in Munich, Germany. The event was convened by the Center for Global Health Science and Security, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Center for Global Development, simulating "command, control, and coordination of an international response to an unusual and rapidly spreading biological event."[1]

History

The tabletop exercise was held the day before the Munich Security Conference 2019, which was scheduled to take place February 15-17.[2][3]

A report for the exercise was published on June 11, 2019 by the Nuclear Threat Initiative.[4]

Participants

The exercise was led by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Center for Global Development and the Center for Global Health Science and Security, with support from Talus Analytics.[2:1][4:1] It was funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada's Weapons Threat Reduction Program (WTRP) and Open Philanthropy.[4:2]

The individuals who participated in the exercise include:[4:3][5]


Name Role Notes
Elizabeth Cameron Project team Nuclear Threat Initiative
Amanda Cogan Project team Nuclear Threat Initiative
Rebecca Katz Project team Center for Global Health Science and Security
Jeremy Konyndyk Project team Center for Global Development
Michelle Nalabandian Project team Nuclear Threat Initiative
Carmen MacDougall Scenario development Nuclear Threat Initiative
Rachel Staley Grant Scenario development Nuclear Threat Initiative
Kevin O’Prey Facilitator Cadmus Group
Aurelia Attal-Juncqua Expert support Center for Global Health Science and Security
Matt Boyce Expert support Center for Global Health Science and Security
Ellie Graeden Expert support Talus Analytics
Rose Worden Expert support Center for Global Development
Elhadj As Sy Keynote International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), UNICEF
Gro Harlem Brundtland Keynote (in absentia) Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), Former Prime Minister of Norway, Former Director-General of the World Health Organization
Sibylle Bauer Participant Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Stephen Cornish Participant David Suzuki Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières Canada
Christopher Elias Participant Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB)
Timothy Evans Participant World Bank Group, Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB)
Jeremy Farrar Participant Wellcome Trust, Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB)
Jean-Marie Guéhenno Participant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Brookings Institution, United Nations, International Crisis Group
John Holmes Participant Electoral Commission, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Jeremy Jurgens Participant World Economic Forum
Angela Kane Participant Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP), United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
Boon Hui Khoo Participant Civil Service College, Singapore, Interpol
Won-soo Kim Participant Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
Jane Holl Lute Participant SICPA North America, United Nations Department of Peace Operations, United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Ernest Moniz Participant Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), United States Department of Energy (DOE)
Hadiza Mustapha Participant African Union
Sam Nunn Participant Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), Former United States Senator
Heiko Rottmann-Grossner Participant Federal Ministry of Health of Germany
Ahmet Üzümcü Participant Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

  1. A Spreading Plague: Lessons and Recommendations for Responding to a Deliberate Biological Event. (2019, June 13). The Nuclear Threat Initiative. http://archive.today/2022.03.25-104220/https://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/spreading-plague-lessons-and-recommendations-responding-deliberate-biological-event/ ↩︎

  2. Responding to Deliberate Biological Events. Center for Global Health Science and Security. Retrieved June 30, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230630161340/https://ghss.georgetown.edu/dbe_response/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. Reden auf der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz 2019. Munich Security Conference. Retrieved June 30, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230630163802/https://securityconference.org/msc-2019/reden/ ↩︎

  4. Cameron, E., Katz, R., Konyndyk, J., & Nalabandian, M. (2019). A Spreading Plague: Lessons and Recommendations for Responding to a Deliberate Biological Event. Nuclear Threat Initiative. https://web.archive.org/web/20230630161331/https://media.nti.org/documents/NTI_Paper_A_Spreading_Plague_FINAL_061119.pdf ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. Tabletop Exercise on International Response to Deliberate Biological Events Munich Security Conference - Participants List. (2019). Nuclear Threat Initiative. https://web.archive.org/web/20230630164516/https://media.nti.org/documents/Participants_List_TTX_on_Deliberate_Bio_Event_2019_MSC_2.14_FINAL.pdf ↩︎