Research project Joint Action TERROR is part of the European Union’s Third Health Programme 2014-2020 and an effort to improve preparedness against terror attacks involving biological or chemical agents.
The main objectives of Joint Action TERROR are to address gaps in health preparedness and to strengthen cross-sectoral work between law enforcement, civil protection and health sectors in their response to biological and chemical terror attacks. The European CBRNE Center will act as the independent and objective evaluator of the project’s success. JA TERROR has a start date of January 1, 2021 and will run for 36 months.
Project description
Unlike other projects funded by the European Commission, Joint Actions are initiated by EU Member States in collaboration with DG Santé (Health and Food Safety) and carried out by the participating nations’ competent authorities in the healthcare sector. Europe has experienced several different terror attacks in the past years. The high level of preparedness necessary for responding to various attacks involves a cross-sectoral approach where healthcare is a critical component. Joint Action TERROR will build on work done by relevant projects and exercises under the EU Health Programme, as well as other programmes with outputs and results relevant to the mission of strengthening cross-sectoral work in the response to biological and chemical terror attacks. JA TERROR will for example cooperate with and benefit from the already ongoing Joint Actions “Strengthened International Health Regulations and Preparedness in the EU” and “Health Gateways” in order not to duplicate efforts.
Execution
JA TERROR is coordinated by the Norwegian Directorate of Health. The consortium consists of national institutions from 18 different member states and a total of 34 affiliated entities from the health, law enforcement, and civil defense sectors. Sweden participates in JA TERROR with its Public Health Agency, the Swedish Defense Research Agency and the European CBRNE Center, which will assist the coordinator with CBRN expertise and be responsible for formative and summative project evaluation. In order to ensure that the evaluation process is objective and independent, the Center staff working with evaluation are neither involved in other parts of the project nor in any implementation of policy based on project outcomes. The work of JA TERROR focuses on four main areas of interest: Health preparedness and response planning to biological and chemical attacks, Cross-sectoral collaboration between law enforcement, civil protection and health, Risk and crisis communication, and Novel threats.
Results
The expected outcomes and benefits of the project contribute to the following long-term EU objectives:
The implementation of Decision 1082/13/EU on serious cross-border threats to health
To strengthen the resilience and response capacities of health systems, and to ensure coherence and interoperability for preparedness planning to health threats at regional, national and , EU and regional level.
The evaluation work will be a systematic and objective appraisal of the project’s success, which will support the project in producing relevant, effective and sustainable quality-assured outcomes and thus in reaching its objectives.
Learn more by visiting the project website.
