Implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) in the

WHO European Region

Dr Florence Fuchs – WHO HQ/HSE/GCR

Review Committee 2014 Recommendation 7: "Consider a variety of approaches for the shorter- and longer-term assessment and development of IHR core capacities as follows:

States Parties should urgently: (i) strengthen the current self-assessment system…; and (ii) implement in-depth reviews of significant disease outbreaks and public health events. This should promote a more science or evidence-based approach to assessing effective core capacities under “real-life” situations.

In parallel, and with a longer term vision, the Secretariat should develop through regional consultative mechanisms options to move from exclusive self-evaluation to approaches that combine self-evaluation, peer review and voluntary external evaluations involving a combination of domestic and independent experts. …

Any new monitoring and evaluation scheme should be subsequently proposed to all States Parties through the WHO governing bodies’ process.

In 2009, WHO established the IHR Monitoring Framework under IHR Article 54 "Reporting and review”

Over the past 5 years 195 countries have reported using the IHRMF: 13 Capacities, 20 Indicators, 256 questions.

While providing consistent information, the data from the current IHRMF do not provide an indication of the functionality of systems at country level, or the capacities required to manage public health events.

Principles of the IHR Monitoring Scheme post-2016Co

ncep

t Not

e Self Assessment

After Action Review

Independent Evaluation

Exercises

• Transparency• Mutual accountability• Trust building• Appreciation of public health

benefits• Dialogue• Sustainability

Date Activity

June–October 2015 European Region web consultationConsult the WHO regional committees about principles and method.

October–December 2015 Conduct regional consultations with Member States and international partners (e.g. OiE, IAEA, ICAO, IOM) on options for monitoring and evaluating implementation of the IHR.WHO will develop tools and protocols.

January 2016 Methodology and Principles monitoring and evaluation of implementation of the IHR approved at the 138th session of the Executive Board.

January–December 2016 Finalize and pilot test the WHO tools and protocols for external evaluation (self-assessment tool, after-action review, simulation exercise)

May 2016 Approval of the IHR monitoring and evaluation framework at the Sixty-ninth session of the World Health Assembly

Next steps to develop the IHR Monitoring Scheme

post -2016 Timeline

Questions to the WHO Regional Committee for Europe

Are Member States in agreement with:1. The new principles proposed by the WHO Secretariat for an IHR

monitoring and evaluation framework, following the recommendations of the IHR review committee 2014;

2. The progressive change for IHR monitoring, i.e. from self-assessment of capacities to a more function-oriented approach;

3. The proposed development process, i.e. tools and protocols to be developed further on by the WHO Secretariat through technical Member States and expert consultations?