Health security updates_December 2023
2023 UPDATES
Advancing efforts to strengthen health security in Asia-Pacific
Health ministers and senior officials from countries and areas across the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region endorsed the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework during the Regional Committee Meeting in October 2023.
The Framework is designed to engage health and non-health actors to support prevention, preparedness, readiness and response to multi-hazard public health emergencies, and to strengthen the resilience of health security systems at subnational, national and regional levels. The Framework guides Member States on how to plan comprehensive health security systems that encompass the core capacities of the International Health Regulations (2005), as well as multisectoral health security capacities needed to strengthen resilience to the public health threats of the future.
Responding to outbreaks and health emergencies in the Region
The Western Pacific Region is highly susceptible to disasters, especially those caused by natural hazards. Eight of the top 15 countries most vulnerable to natural disasters are in our Region. In 2023, WHO responded to 43 events in the Region out of in total 50 events detected. This included 42 infectious disease outbreaks, 5 chemical events and 3 natural disasters. When responding to emergencies, WHO leverages the support of a number of networks including Emergency Medical Teams and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).
Emergency Medical Teams enhance domestic capacity to respond to public health emergencies
EMTs are trained to ensure that personnel have the tools and knowledge to rapidly deploy to support emergency responses. Training includes familiarizing EMT members with the functions and operations of a first-aid clinic, including mass casualty triage, and stabilizing and treating casualties before referring them to a hospital. With funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australian (DFAT), the Government of Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand (MFAT), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), WHO in the Western Pacific recently facilitated workshops with full-scale simulation exercises for EMTs in the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Lao PDR, Samoa, and New Zealand.
Regional experts strengthen leadership skills to better respond to disease outbreaks
Public health experts from the Western Pacific Region who are part of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) benefited from the first leadership training organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) − in collaboration with the Robert Koch Institute and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy − in September 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The training supported a common standard and baseline of knowledge across all GOARN partners, which serves to facilitate a more seamless integration with government, national and international partners in their response teams.
Strengthening emergency preparedness through Joint External Evaluations
Joint External Evaluations (JEEs) help countries assess their national capacities to prevent, detect and respond quickly and effectively to public health risks. The JEE process is voluntary, collaborative, and multisectoral – that is, involving more parts of the government and wider society than just ministries of health. It helps countries identify the gaps and weaknesses in their national health security systems, so they can focus their efforts to improve in these areas.
Samoa
The Government of Samoa completed its first Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of the national capacities required by the International Health Regulations (IHR), in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank Group, from 30 October to 3 November 2023.Samoa, like other Small Island Developing States, faces particular challenges and is especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Mongolia
The Government of Mongolia, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), conducted its second Joint External Evaluation (JEE) to assess national capacities and capabilities in relation to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) from 17-24 November 2023. The JEE provided an opportunity for the Government of Mongolia to identify the most urgent needs for building a health security system which is resilient and enables better coordination among sectors.
Enabling better communication between countries and WHO during emergencies
IHR Exercise Crystal 2023
From 5-6 December 2023, 35 countries and areas in the Western Pacific had the opportunity to test information-sharing, decision-making, communication and reporting channels based on the International Health Regulations (IHR) during a WHO-led simulation activity called IHR Exercise Crystal.
Focal points across the Region practiced IHR communications to respond to a potential radiation health threat - activating communication channels and tapping relevant departments across their respective governments. Simulations such as these allow countries to test how well their response plans perform during an emergency, and to identify strengths, weaknesses and scope for improvement.
Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Workshop
Experts from 15 Pacific island countries and areas participated in a Pacific Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Workshop in Nadi, Fiji, from 7-10 November. The workshop aimed to boost capacities to better listen to, engage and inform Pacific peoples and communities. The countries also agreed to launch a revitalized Pacific Risk Communication and Community Engagement Network – a platform for country focal points to exchange views, resources, and support peer-to-peer learning.
Pacific National International Health Regulations (IHR) Focal Point Workshop
From 23 to 25 August 2023, participants from 20 Pacific island countries and areas discussed the International Health Regulations (2005), and shared their experience from using tools under the International Health Regulations Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. The discussions highlighted the importance of formal assessments of IHR capacities and multisectoral coordination. Participants also agreed that annual meetings of national focal points are valuable mechanisms to strengthen collaboration in the Pacific.
Promoting public health preparedness and response capabilities at points of entry
In a proactive effort to enhance public health preparedness and response capabilities at points of entry (PoE), the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) of the Department of Health (DOH) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), USAID Philippines and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) conducted comprehensive table-top and functional exercises on 14 to 16 November 2023 to test its Public Health Emergency Contingency Plan (PHECP). The aim of this initiative was to evaluate the Bureau's ability to manage and mitigate as effectively as possible the impact of potential public health threats of national or international significance in close collaboration with other relevant actors operating at the airport, including airlines.
Enhancing surveillance systems across the Region
WHO's regional surveillance system identifies approximately 80 outbreaks and public health emergencies in the Region each year. The ability to conduct high-quality sequencing in-country enables timely risk assessments and allows countries to make quick decisions based on up-to-date information.
Hear from Naranzul Tsedenbal, head of the Virology Laboratory at Mongolia’s National Center for Communicable Diseases, who received training on performing whole genome sequencing and analysis. “Infectious diseases are public health challenges that affect our entire society,” says Naranzul. “I see our work helping many people, and saving lives as virtuous.”
WHO champions a “One Health” approach when responding to outbreaks and health emergencies in the Western Pacific
Cambodia’s recent avian influenza outbreak is an example of the interdependencies between the health of humans, animals and the environment. Disease outbreaks require all sectors – animal health, agriculture, environment, food safety and human health – to collaborate, share information and work together to respond effectively. Yet stakeholders from various government ministries and departments often work in silos and do not have established mechanisms for collaboration and information-sharing.
Vannda Kab, a Technical Officer in WHO Cambodia, describes how WHO played a crucial role during the recent avian influenza outbreak to facilitate a multisectoral response and bring all stakeholders to the table. “During the avian influenza outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries was grappling with different consequences of response measures – such as culling poultry – than the Ministry of Health,” he said. “Yet, it was vital that they shared accurate information with each other and collaborated to implement response measures."
Vannda shared insights from this experience with other WHO representatives from country and regional offices across the Asia Pacific Region at a bi-regional One Health coordination meeting held in Manila, Philippines, in early December 2023. Other country-level examples of One Health implementation from Bangladesh, Mongolia and Vanuatu underscored WHO’s unique convening power to bring all sectors to the table. The bi-regional meeting served to address One Health implementation challenges and empower country-level staff with the information and tools they need to implement One Health initiatives.
Upcoming events: Jan - March 2024
Training Workshop on Development of National Action Plans for Health Security (12-14 March, 2024): Hands on training to guide countries through 4-step process in developing a costed NAPHS using APHSAF as a guiding framework.
Workshop on Using Social and Behavioural Insights to Support Risk Communications in the Context of Emergencies in the Western Pacific Region (February 2024): To increase capacity of WHO country offices, Member States and risk communication teams across the Western Pacific Region to apply social and behavioural insights to strengthen and scale up application of the Communication for Health approach in the context of emergencies.
