The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted Exercise Polaris II, a high-level simulation exercise that involved 26 countries and territories, 600 health emergency experts, and over 25 partners. The exercise, which took place on 22 and 23 April, simulated an outbreak of a fictional new bacterium across the world, allowing countries to test their preparedness for pandemics and major health emergencies. Each participating country activated its emergency coordination structure and worked under real-life conditions to share information, align policies and increase their workforce. The simulation put two key WHO frameworks into practice, the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) framework and the National health emergency alert and response framework, and explored the use of AI-enabled tools to support workforce organization and planning. The second edition of the exercise saw a larger number of countries participate through new networks such as the Health Emergency Leaders Network for Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.