Washington, D.C., April 13, 2026 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization, through its Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Americas initiative, continues to strengthen emergency preparedness across the Region with SIMEXamericas, a collaborative virtual platform designed to support simulation exercises in virtual and hybrid environments.
Since its launch in 2020, SIMEXamericas has supported 20 national, regional, and international simulation exercises, bringing together 35 countries across the Americas and international partners. These exercises have covered a wide range of scenarios, including earthquakes, hurricanes, disease outbreaks, floods, volcanic eruptions, and other complex emergencies.
Through these efforts, countries have strengthened their readiness to respond to emergencies, improving coordination between institutions and enhancing decision-making in challenging situations.
SIMEXamericas allows participants from different countries and levels of the health system to engage simultaneously, without the need for fully in-person activities. The platform enables both real-time and flexible participation, supporting interaction through task management, messaging, and evolving simulation scenarios that reflect real-life conditions.
In January 2026, SIMEXamericas received an A+ cybersecurity rating following an independent evaluation conducted by the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC). This recognition highlights the platform’s strong performance in safeguarding information and ensuring secure environments for simulation exercises.
UNICC also recognized the work of the EMT Americas Secretariat in continuously strengthening the platform, helping ensure that information remains protected and available—an essential aspect in the health sector.
The platform brings together key tools needed to plan and run simulation exercises, including task management, internal communication, document sharing, and collaborative workspaces. Its flexible design allows it to adapt to different country needs and operational contexts.
SIMEXamericas is also moving forward in integrating artificial intelligence (AI), with the goal of improving how exercises are planned, carried out, and evaluated, and supporting faster and more informed decision-making.
The development of SIMEXamericas has been supported by the Gates Foundation and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), reinforcing its role as a key tool for technical cooperation to strengthen preparedness and response to emergencies across the Americas.
