GHD| EMPHNET’s representatives participated in the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) Meeting for National Focal Points (NFPs) from the Region, held on April 9-10, 2017 at the Le Meridian Hotel, Amman, Jordan.

IHR NFPs from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates also participated in this meeting, alongside representatives of the WHO Secretariat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare.

These NFPs were assigned by their respective countries to send urgent communication to the WHO in matters relevant to the IHR and to coordinate between the country’s administration and entities responsible for surveillance and reporting, public and private hospitals and clinics, and governmental departments.

This meeting was held upon the request of countries in the region to obtain and review documents relevant to the revised framework. It also came in response to recommendations by the Regional Assessment Commission to assess implementation of the IHR (2005) in the Region (IHR-RAC) and the Review Committee on the Functioning of the IHR (2005) to further strengthen the NFPs and to empower the IHR multi-sectoral committees from ministries of health in their role of enhancing IHR capacities. This meeting also aimed at introducing approaches to conduct Joint External Evaluations (JEEs) of the IHR implementation especially in countries in conflict and sharing several scenarios of Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEICs).

In this meeting, participants recommended that the JEE be conducted in all countries in crises including Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen; and to implement the modalities for conducting the JEE in these countries via academic institutions, polio networks, and volunteers. Additionally, there was emphasis on the need for data management methods in order to ensure the effective involvement of all parties.

Participants also recommended that the designation of the NFP should be mandated by local laws. They also proposed training in areas relevant to the NFPs’ scope of work such as risk communication and media training; principles of monitoring and evaluation; leadership and advocacy; the NFP roles and responsibilities; and the IHR fundamentals. Communication among NFPs was defined as an area for improvement. Therefore, an NFP network, an online platform, and the creation of inter-country memorandums of understanding were identified as possible solutions.

Recommendations were also made regarding improving the functionality of existing IHR multi-sectoral committees in Lebanon, Oman, and Tunisia by putting into practice a needs assessment and creating new committees in other countries across the region.

Prior to this meeting, a Consultation Meeting on Joint External Evaluation of the International Health Regulations (2005) Capacities in Countries Under Conflict was held in Amman, Jordan on April 8, 2017 at the Le Meridian Hotel.

Key officials from the WHO head office as well as country and regional offices, representatives of the CDC, Finish National Institute for Health and Welfare, and GHD/EMPHNET were in attendance.

The participants discussed and reviewed approaches in conducting JEEs in countries that are home to crises, and agreed on a generic guiding note in developing and implementing the plan of action for IHR implementation in these countries.

The IHR 2005 is a binding agreement for 96 countries across the globe. It was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to limit the spread of public health threats across borders, while maintaining convenience for travelers or international traders. To oversee the proper implementation of the IHR 2005, an IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework was created to assist countries in improving capacities needed to implement the IHR and, later, to assess this implementation.

In 2015, a revised IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework was introduced where external assessment was incorporated into self-evaluations conducted by the countries. This Revised framework now comprises four components: Annual Reporting by the countries, the Joint External Evaluation (JEE), After Action Review by internal and/or external parties after the occurrence of acute public health events, and Simulation Exercises conducted for training and quality assurance purposes.