The National Center for the Prevention and Control of Plant Pests and Animal Diseases (Weqaa) hosted here yesterday, in cooperation with King Saud University, a workshop on command, control, and early warning centers aiming to enhance the efficiency of early warning and emergency response to plant and animal health. Participants identified local and global command and control centers that contribute to improving efficiency, security, and safety in different sectors. In Saudi Arabia, over 30 government control centers comply with national guidelines. The workshop reviewed the essential roles command and control centers play in government organizations, improving operational efficiency, emergency management, data monitoring and analysis, coordination, security, and decision making. It also explored global technologies used in command and control centers and the Weqaa command and control center project objectives, which include designing centers according to national and international standards, enabling r eal-time monitoring and rapid response, developing an optimal operational model, utilizing AI for disease prediction, and analyzing data. The workshop outlined the criteria for evaluating the readiness of agencies to manage emergencies, based on the ISO 11064 standard. It also approved 14 command, control, and early warning centers throughout Saudi Arabia. Source: Saudi Press Agency