Launching a workshop on the joint external assessment of national capacities in the field of international health regulations
[2023/ 8/ 20]
Today, in Sana'a, a workshop on the joint external assessment of national capacities in the field of international health regulations, organized by the Ministry of Public Health and Population, started.
The workshop, in three days, with the participation of 90 participants representing various programs in the Ministry of Health and relevant authorities, and a team of experts in the WHO regional office and from the countries of the region, will present an introduction to the International Health Regulations, the joint external assessment, an overview of the health system in Yemen, the stage of national self-assessment, surveillance, prevention infection and its control.
It also reviews the national laboratory system, biosafety, biosecurity, provision of health services, risk communication, community participation, the functions of the national coordinator for international health regulations, advocacy, health emergency management, and others.
At the opening, the Deputy Ministry of Health for Primary Health Care Sector, Dr. Mohammad Al-Mansour, explained the importance of the workshop in determining Yemen's capabilities with regard to the implementation of the International Health Regulations, indicating that these regulations are a regulatory contract between all countries of the world to discover the epidemic and health risks, monitor them, and promptly report them and respond to them.
He pointed out that this evaluation was preceded by an internal evaluation, indicating that the external evaluation was conducted by experts from the regional office and from Arab and foreign countries to know the level of national capabilities for interventions for all diseases.
Dr. Al-Mansour touched on what Yemen is suffering as a result of the continued aggression and blockade, which affected the health sector at all levels, stressing the need to take into account the external assessment of the health regulations for the situation in Yemen due to the impact of the aggression and blockade on the health sector, the suspension of salaries and operating expenses, and the spread of epidemics and diseases.
For their part, the representative of the World Health Organization, Dr. Arturo Besigan, and the Regional Director for Emergency Preparedness, Dr. Dalia Al-Samhouri, reviewed the objectives and program of the workshop for the joint external evaluation of the International Health Regulations .
They indicated that the external evaluation assesses the country's capacity in the field of health security through a multi sectoral collaborative process that includes an initial stage of self-assessment followed by an in-country increase by external experts to reach a mutual result using the joint external evaluation tool through 19 action packages across prevention, detection and response capabilities. as well as entry points, risks and advances in core IHR capabilities.
Arturo and Samhouri said that the external evaluation helps to identify the most important gaps in the IHR's core capacities of health systems and related sectors in order to prioritize opportunities to strengthen preparedness and systemic response capacities.
Source: Saba