progress on emergency preparedness and response

Progress on emergency preparedness and response

Agenda item 2(c)62nd session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean

58 October 2015

Progress on emergency preparedness and response2

Overview• More than half of countries in the Region affected by

emergencies• Level 3 emergencies in the Syrian Arab Republic, Iraq and

Yemen• More than 60 million men, women and children in need of

humanitarian assistance • Almost 6 million registered refugees and 21 million internally

displaced persons • Highest rates of malnutrition in the world as a result of

emergencies


Critical functions for emergency response

To deliver on its core commitments, WHO must fulfil four critical functions:

– Leadership: coordinate health sector/cluster response– Technical expertise: ensure provision of technical guidelines,

implement/strengthen disease surveillance systems, provide health services through partners; cover critical gaps

– Information: coordinate collection, analysis and dissemination of essential data on health risks, needs, gaps and performance

– Core services: ensure logistics, office establishment, surge and personnel management, procurement and supply management, administration, finance and grant management


Funding status• UN strategic response plans for eight countries in the

Region for 2015 currently funded at 20.3% for health (US$ 83.5 million received to date out of a requested US$ 411.5 million)

• Lack of funding is impeding health response and has threatened the closure of public health functions and health services in Iraq and Somalia


Organizational challenges• Limited coordination with departments in the Regional

Office, resulting in lack of qualified surge expertise• Weak leadership and coordination / limited partnerships

with nongovernmental organizations in some countries, resulting in an inadequate response on the ground, especially in hard-to-access areas

• Lack of / unimplemented streamlined WHO rules and regulations for expedited workforce, administration, logistics in emergencies

• Limited health information and intelligence to guide an effective response


Organizational reform• To ensure organizational capability and flexibility to

respond in an evolving environment, WHO is reviewing the way it works in emergencies so that it is better equipped to respond and save lives


Emergency Planning and Monitoring

• Reports directly to the Director of Programme Management

• Strengthens the operational planning process in line with the outbreak crises and response guidance note

• Aligns donor reports with WHO’s mandatory reports

• Ensures regular monitoring and evaluation of our work to identify gaps and capture lessons learnt


Emergency Coordination and Response Cluster

Emergency Response and Operations• Operationalizes WHO’s core

commitments in emergency response and provides country field support.

• Coordinates timely response operations, staff and logistics deployment to the emergency scene as soon as a declaration of an emergency takes place, including Grade 2 and 3 emergencies


Emergency Coordination and Response Cluster

Emergency Coordination and Support• Ensures that WHO is ready to lead the

health sector and promote the visibility of its work in emergencies

• Provides support to leadership, coordination and performance evaluation of the health cluster/sector when activated

• Maintains partnerships with stakeholders and donors within the humanitarian arena


Polio Eradication and Emergency Readiness

Emergency Readiness Unit• Housed within the Centre for Emergency

Readiness and Polio Eradication in Amman

• Ensures organizational readiness for graded and public health emergencies

• Organizes all capacity-building activities to expand institutional readiness

• Develops and promote a fully functional surge mechanism and manage, together with the Regional Office and the Dubai Regional humanitarian operations/ logistics hub

Progress on emergency preparedness and response

Resolution EM/RC61/R.1• A Regional Emergency Solidarity Fund to ensure a more

predictable and reliable funding mechanism (January 2016)• A Regional Emergency Advisory Group to provide

independent advice and assistance to the Regional Director on policy and strategic matters related to emergencies (September 2015)

• An expanded roster of trained experts to ensure the availability of surge expertise at the onset of an emergency.

• A dedicated humanitarian logistics hub to ensure adequate stockpiling of critical medical supplies and support a timely response to emergency events in the Region and beyond

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progress on emergency preparedness and response

Health & Medicine