March 2024
WHO responds to a severe dzud in Mongolia
WHO is responding to a severe dzud in Mongolia, which has caused the death of nearly 5 million livestock and severely impacted access to health services, especially for people living in rural areas. Mongolia recorded the highest snowfall in 49 years with over 90% of the country covered with layers of snow up to a metre thick. On February 24, WHO dispatched 4 tons of critical supplies and equipment that included Interagency Emergency Health Kits with medicines and supplementary renewable kits and supplies to ensure safe water, sanitation and hygiene for distribution to 21 provinces across Mongolia.
Tonga becomes first Pacific island country to apply WHO’s Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risk (STAR)
The Tonga Ministry of Health in collaboration with WHO convened a multi-sectoral group of participants active in health security and emergency preparedness and response through a workshop from 28 February to 1 March 2024, to analyze health risks using WHO’s Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risk (STAR) tool. During the three-day workshop, representatives from different sectors applied a stepwise process to identify hazards facing the country, describe the seasonality and likelihood to occur, and assess their potential impact. The workshop was co-facilitated by the Ministry of Health, the National Disaster Risk Management Office and WHO.
WHO Country Liaison Officer, Dr Anup Gurung, emphasized how funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is enabling WHO’s support to Tonga. “This initiative aligns closely with WHO and USAID’s broader goals of promoting health security, building resilient health systems, and fostering partnerships for sustainable development,” he said.
WHO workshop builds country capacity for developing National Action Plans for Health Security
National Action Plans for Health Security (NAPHS) outline a country’s strategy for building capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health emergencies. They enable countries to strengthen their health security systems to prepare and be ready to respond to emergencies, with focus on, but not limited to, surveillance, laboratory capacity, risk communication, and capacity of their health workers. NAPHS employ a whole-of-government approach, involving multi-stakeholder groups, including government agencies, United Nations agencies, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector.
To support Member States in the important process of developing NAPHS, the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific Region facilitated a capacity-building workshop from 12 to 14 March 2024 for countries and areas in the Region. During the workshop, representatives from 12 participating Member States − Cambodia, Fiji, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and Viet Nam − had the opportunity to practise the NAPHS approach. They identified the most critical priorities for health security and incorporated these into a multi-sectoral, capacity-building plan that is costed for implementation.
Mongolia is the first country in the Western Pacific Region to receive a Pandemic Fund grant for enhancing pandemic preparedness
The Pandemic Fund assists countries and regions in strengthening their health systems and increasing their investments, enabling them to prevent, prepare, and respond effectively to health threats. The Fund injects vital resources to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response capabilities in critical areas like laboratories, surveillance, and health workforce development. Mongolia is one of the 16 countries globally that received a single-country grant during the first call of the Pandemic Fund.
High levels of pastoralism in Mongolia, with over 70 million livestock, increases the risk for emerging infectious diseases and zoonoses that can easily be transported across geographies. The vulnerability of the population — due to extreme weather conditions (as evidenced by the current severe dzud), geographic challenges in accessing health services, and the high risk of zoonotic infections — underscores the urgent need for Mongolia to invest in the continuum of pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response through a strong multi-sectoral and One Health approach.
Advocating for a safer, healthier world safe from pandemics
From now to end of May 2024, WHO is mobilizing the voices and stories of people on how they were affected by COVID-19 — to advocate for a healthier and safer world, supported by a Pandemic Accord. Before the next pandemic comes to our doors, we must get behind our leaders who are developing a Pandemic Accord to help us prepare better. Let’s #GetItDone.
WHO hones leadership skills of emergency responders
Emergencies are dynamic situations, and emergency response teams require leaders who can make quick decisions, keep motivation levels high and inspire confidence in those around them. For Dr Sharon Salmon, Technical Officer for the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network in the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region, the importance of good leadership during an emergency cannot be overstated: “During emergencies − particularly protracted emergencies − response teams are likely to feel fatigued or ‘burnt out’ over time. The leader therefore plays a critical role in recognizing when the team needs additional support. Having a pulse on how a team is working is part of good leadership,” she said.
Recognizing the importance of having strong team leaders, especially during emergencies, WHO’s Learning and Capacity Development unit initiated a Leadership in Emergencies programme in 2019 to equip emergency responders with the skills they need when faced with complex situations. The programme helps participants to develop key leadership skills through online courses, in-person training and simulation exercises.
Approximately 30 WHO staff members from 14 countries across four WHO regions gathered in Istanbul from 3 to 7 March 2024 to attend phase II of a Leadership in Emergencies workshop organized by the WHO European Centre for Preparedness for Humanitarian and Health Emergencies together with WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme offices. There they were coached in key leadership skills needed for working within a public health emergency response setting. The phase II workshop was the culmination of WHO’s Ready4Response learning journey and built upon insights gained from the previous training phases.
WHO mobilizes trained emergency responders from the Western Pacific Region to support the response to the emergency situation in Gaza
In support of WHO's response to the Grade 3 emergency situation in Gaza, three staff members from the WHO's Western Pacific Regional Office were deployed in late December 2023 and January 2024. Sean Casey (Health Emergency Officer/Regional EMT Focal Point) and Eystein Grusd (EMT Logistics Consultant) deployed to mobilize and coordinate international emergency medical teams (EMT) to expand clinical capacity in Gaza's hospitals and in stand-alone field hospitals. Dr Nuha Mahmoud (Team Coordinator, Pacific Health Security & Communicable Diseases) also deployed to Gaza for one month to support surveillance and outbreak response. Additionally, the Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) EMT has supported information management for the EMT response in Gaza, and MERCY Malaysia has deployed its EMT for clinical service delivery.
Resources in One Health and food safety during emergencies
To strengthen emergency preparedness and response within the Human-Animal-Environment Interface, WHO developed resources on food safety during emergencies, guidance for national authorities on food inspection and a pathway for One Health implementation.
Food Safety during Emergencies: Fires, Power Outages and Floods include tips to reduce food safety risks during a fire incident, floods or a power outage for households, food suppliers, vendors, food industry inspectors and workers.
Risk-based food inspection system: practical guidance for national authorities underscores resource-efficient, risk-based food inspection systems, prioritizing high-risk products and businesses to prevent safety incidents proactively.
Multisectoral collaboration at the human-animal-environmental interface aims to improve health security through One Health implementation and outlines strategic guides and tools developed to support Member States.
Recently published research on health security in the Regional journal (WPSAR)
The Western Pacific Surveillance and Response (WPSAR) journal is an open access, peer-reviewed journal published by the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. WPSAR publishes articles on all aspects of health security, including prevention, preparedness, readiness, response and recovery, related to public health events and emergencies in the Western Pacific Region. The journal publishes quarterly issues as well as Special Editions on topics of high interest to the Region.
Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network deployments during the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO Western Pacific Region
Maintaining health-system functionality in response to the surge of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, Japan
WPSAR builds capacity in scientific writing across the Region to enable the publication of epidemiological and operational research for better information sharing. Since the start of 2024, in collaboration with the Representative Office for the Philippines, the WPSAR team conducted a 5-day scientific writing workshop for staff of the Philippines Department of Health, in which participants worked through a data analysis project and drafted a manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. Additionally, a 3-hour lecture on how to write a scientific manuscript was given at the Annual Field Epidemiology Training Program Scientific Conference in Iloilo City, Philippines.
WHO's Regional Office for the Western Pacific thanks the European Union for its country-level support to enhance pandemic response and preparedness. Countries from the Region who benefitted from this grant included Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam.
Upcoming events
Workshop on Using Social and Behavioural Insights to Support Risk Communications in the Context of Emergencies in the Western Pacific Region (11-12 April 2024) to increase capacity of Member States across the Western Pacific Region to apply social and behavioural sciences to impactful risk communications, as part of implementing the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework. This work also supports scaling up of the Communication for Health approach in the context of emergencies.
Joint External Evaluation in Tonga (29 April to 3 May) to assess country capacities to prevent and detect public health risks in order to prioritize opportunities for enhanced preparedness and response.
World Health Organization, Western Pacific Regional Office
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