by Shepard Ambellas, Intellihub:

A news release published by the World Economic Forum in Mid-October reveals that the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation hosted the kickoff to Event 201 in October of 2019.

According to the report, the “high-level simulation exercise for pandemic preparedness and response” took place in “New York, USA, on Friday 18 October, 08.45 – 12.30 EDT.”

The exercise was planned to “bring together business, government, security and public health leaders to address a hypothetical global pandemic scenario. It will also feature a live virtual experience from 08.50 – 12.30 EDT to engage stakeholders worldwide and members of the public in a meaningful conversation of difficult high-level policy choices that could arise in the midst of a severe pandemic.”

Participants of the excersise include:

• Latoya Abbott, Risk Management/Global Senior Director Occupational Health Services, Marriott International


• Stan Bergman, Chairman and CEO, Henry Schein


• Sofia Borges, Senior Vice President, UN Foundation


• Chris Elias, President, Global Development division, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation


• Tim Evans, Former Senior Director of Health, World Bank Group


• George Gao, Director-General, Chinese Center for Disease Control


• Avril Haines, Former Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency; Former Deputy National Security Advisor


• Jane Halton, Board member, ANZ Bank; Former Secretary of Finance and Former Secretary of Health, Australia


• Matthew Harrington, Global President and Chief Operations Officer, Edelman


• Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control


• Martin Knuchel, Head of Crisis, Emergency and Business Continuity Management, Lufthansa Group Airlines


• Eduardo Martinez, President, The UPS Foundation


• Stephen Redd, Deputy Director for Public Health Service and Implementation Science, US CDC


• Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chair of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson


• Hasti Taghi, Vice President and Executive Advisor, NBCUniversal Media


• Lavan Thiru, Chief Representative, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Additionally, the press release points out: “Similar high-level pandemic exercises designed to address difficult policy issues have included: Dark Winter, examining the challenges of a biological attack on the US; Atlantic Storm, asking NATO leaders to respond collaboratively to a bioterrorist attack: and most recently, Clade X, calling on US government leaders to make difficult national security and public health decisions in the face of a rapidly evolving global crisis.”

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