Building national readiness through emergency simulation: Exercise Itiki’anga

The Office of the Prime Minister is pleased to announce the conclusion of Exercise Itiki’anga, a national emergency preparedness simulation that brought together government agencies, first responders, private sector, NGOs, and community representatives to test the country’s disaster coordination systems.

Running throughout this week, the exercise has played a critical role in strengthening national readiness, coordination, and resilience. The name Itiki’anga, meaning collaboration and togetherness was chosen to reflect the collective spirit that underpinned the simulation.

Karopaerangi Ngatoko, Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime Minister, commended all those involved:

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve had the fortune of calm, but we know this can change rapidly, and sometimes without warning. Exercise Itiki’anga, building on the success of last year’s Uri’ia Turanga Toru simulation, ensures that we’re able to test and strengthen our national systems and coordinating frameworks, and bring agencies together under one response framework.”

“I extend sincere appreciation to our donor and technical partners, in particular the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), and the United Nations Pacific Office, including Ms Karla Hershey, UN Special Representative for the Pacific. We also acknowledge our lead facilitators, Mr. Anthony Blake and Mr. Saimoni Bebenisala, whose support and expertise have been invaluable to the success of this exercise.”

Designed and delivered by Emergency Management Cook Islands (EMCI) and co-funded by the Green Climate Fund through the UNEP CIS-Pac5 programme and NEMA NZ, Exercise Itiki’anga is a practical step in establishing our National Incident Management System, revising and validating our Standard Operating Procedures, and practising real-time coordination across multiple sectors through a realistic scenario in a controlled environment.

The exercise scenario simulated a complex emergency requiring multi-sector coordination across ministries, with a strong emphasis on operational realism. It also contributed to shaping the design of the future National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) facility, ensuring it will be fit-for-purpose and forward-looking.

This initiative complements ongoing organisational strengthening within the Office of the Prime Minister, including through the review of the Disaster Risk Management Policy and Act, a crucial step in modernizing the legislative and institutional frameworks that give effect to national disaster risk management, ensuring that our laws, policies, and governance structures are aligned with international best practice to build a resilient and responsive Cook Islands.