Abstract Summary Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response CDC-RFA-TP22-2201 The Ministry of Health and Human Services (MHHS) of the Republic of Palau is the sole authority on health for the island nation and operates the country’s only public hospital, the Belau National Hospital (BNH). BNH serves the majority, if not all, of Palau’s residents as well as visitors. The MOH is comprised of four main bureaus, including the Bureau of Public Health Services, the Bureau of Hospital and Clinical Services, the Bureau of Nursing, and the Bureau of Health Administration and Support Services. The MHHS also manages the Palau Community Health Center together with a governing board comprised of community representatives. Other private entities within Palau’s health system include three private clinics (Family Surgical Clinic, Pacific Family Medical Clinic, and Belau Medical Clinic), one military clinic (US Civic Action Team), and a private pharmacy. All of these private entities work closely with the Ministry of Health to ensure adequate health care and public health services for the entirety of Palau. The Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Hospital Preparedness (PHEP/HPP) Program is considered a cross cutting program under the Bureau of Public Health that works with all ministry bureaus, divisions, and programs to promote and advance ministry-wide goals and objectives. In the past two years, the MHHS, in collaboration with internal and external partners and stakeholders has responded to three major health threatening events including extreme drought, the global outbreak of the Zika virus, and most recently a local outbreak of Dengue Fever. Response efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Health and Human Services to address these events have demonstrated the need for adequate resources beyond what currently exist in order to effectively and efficiently implement response and recovery efforts in the future. Therefore, application for this funding mechanism is intended for use by the Palau Ministry of Health and Human Services to support the enhancement of emergency management systems to ensure continued readiness and prompt response capabilities for future public health crises, especially infectious and vector- borne disease outbreaks. The MHHS aims to utilize this funding mechanism to sustain essential public health services and operations during emergencies and disasters beyond the current response and recovery capacities and capabilities. The outcomes of this funding mechanism are as follows: Outcomes: • Enhanced and sustained response to, and investigation of suspected case(s) of reportable/infectious diseases such as ZVD, influenza, and other potential epidemics beyond current capacities; • Ensure adequate infrastructure, transportation, personnel, and equipment availability and readiness for continuity of infectious disease response efforts, adaptable to specific scale and scope of disaster surge; • Increased and sustained public awareness, education, and information dissemination on disease modes of transmission, prevention methods, symptoms, resources/services and other information to the community and vulnerable populations (e.g. pregnant women, 1 Abstract Summary Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response CDC-RFA-TP22-2201 impacted families and children etc.) during and after extended disaster response and recovery; • Sustained and strengthened collaboration between key stakeholders on emergency management and response and recovery beyond expected scope and duration of disasters and emergencies; • Enhanced and sustained communication systems for open communication with essential emergency partners for transmittal and receipt of critical alerts and notifications beyond current capacities and expected disaster scope and duration; and • Sustained capacity and capabilities for adequate and effecti
