Background
Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) provide a centralized coordination node that links epidemiological surveillance, resource allocation, clinical management, and risk communication during infectious-disease incidents. The Incident Management System (IMS) establishes predefined roles and reporting lines for teams responsible for surveillance, clinical care, and logistics to enable timely operational decisions.
The Ministry of Health in Cambodia uses EOC and IMS frameworks to coordinate national and subnational response activities for vector-borne disease outbreaks. Key operational elements in these frameworks include daily situational reporting, inter-agency resource coordination (personnel, budget, medicines, and equipment), and targeted risk communication to communities.
Institutional Role
On 10 July 2026, the Ministry of Health convened a Zoom meeting to launch the operationalization of an Emergency Operations Center for a dengue outbreak response. Dr. Youk Sambath, State Secretary, presided over the meeting organized by the Department of Communicable Disease Control.
Participants included hospital directors, national centre heads, provincial and municipal health department chiefs, provincial rapid response teams, and program officers from all 25 provinces and the capital, totaling 176 attendees.
Operational Implications
The meeting decided to make the EOC operational and to define response levels and roles under an Incident Management System. Specific operational tasks agreed in the session include preparing response plans with health-education campaigns, vector-control measures (larval source reduction and targeted spraying), routine data monitoring and analysis to support decisions, coordinated allocation of personnel and medical supplies, and establishment of daily reporting lines.
Key Developments
The agenda emphasized strengthening coordination between national and subnational authorities and improving community-level implementation of dengue prevention measures. The State Secretary urged all participants to prioritize outbreak control efforts to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with dengue.
