A Knowledge Management System for Health Emergencies: Limiting the Need to Reinvent the Wheel from One Public Health Emergency to Another

This article underscores the urgent need for robust Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) in public health emergencies to preserve vital tacit knowledge gained by responders. Using a fictional outbreak narrative, it illustrates how critical lessons are often lost due to limited documentation and inaccessible After-Action Review (AAR) reports. The authors advocate for systematic collection of both tacit and explicit knowledge during and after emergencies, emphasizing real-time debriefs and accessible, living repositories. WHO's role in convening and standardizing this knowledge is highlighted, aiming to prevent knowledge loss, enhance preparedness, and ensure effective, informed responses to future global health crises.