30 September 2009, No. 8
Securing global health: IHR implementation course
The IHR implementation course (IHR i-course), developed in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, South Africa, Georgetown University Law Center, USA, and the University of Geneva, Switzerland is now accepting applications.
This on-the-job training targets public health professionals, mainly belonging to National IHR Focal Points (NFP), but also professionals from other related sectors from national or international organizations, in the public and private sectors. Each cohort of participants will also include WHO staff from Country Offices and Regional Offices.
From their workstations, course participants will be able to:
The IHR i-course – What’s in it for participants?
What’s in it for the participant’s institution?
With specialized training in IHR implementation the participant will be able to
Course dates: on-the-job distance training: March 2010-June 2010 / 2-week face-to-face session: July 2010
In this issue:
This newsletter seeks to provide useful information for NFPs, countries and partners in implementing the IHR. We welcome your suggestions and comments and invite you to send these to Ms Sophia Desillas at ihrinfo@who.int
What's new in IHR coordination and support
Interventions Network) 8-11 July 2009, Lyon, France From 8-11 July 2009, IHR Coordination, Lyon hosted the meeting of the directors of TEPHINET and the workshop on building capacity in field epidemiology. This event brought together 70 participants from 40 countries, representing the main partners that work in the area of training and response to epidemics, such as the American and European Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC and ECDC) and WHO. Subjects covered included pandemic influenza /A1H1) virus, implementation of the IHR, training programmes that bridge the epidemiology and laboratory fields, and future collaboration. Since its creation in 1999, TEPHINET has been supporting training programmes in field epidemiology and public health throughout the world. For further information: ihrinfo@who.int
IHR Coordination has developed a monitoring tool to better monitor country progress in the implementation of the core surveillance capacities set out in the Regulations. This tool was reviewed and assessed in August by a group of international experts including representatives from the six WHO Regional Offices and technical partners. The finalized tool is to be pilot tested in selected countries in all WHO regions from October through December 2009. In the AFRO region, the tool will be field tested in Uganda and Ghana; in the EMRO region, Bahrain and Libya will test it. Discussions are ongoing to identify which countries will test the monitoring tool in the remaining four WHO regions. A web version of this tool has also been developed and will be assessed in parallel with the field testing. It is envisaged that the web version will be available for use by Member States in the first quarter of 2010. For further information: ihrinfo@who.int
Laboratories are an integral part of the health system. Several types of laboratories are involved in health care or in the detection or confirmation of public health events: human health (microbiology, biochemistry, haematology, toxicology, blood bank etc.), food safety, environmental health (water, air, soil, etc.) and animal health laboratories. It is essential that these laboratories be engaged in quality assurance programmes and participate successfully in inter-laboratory comparison programmes (i.e. External Quality Assessment Schemes (EQAS) also known as Proficiency Testing Schemes). To better help Member States, the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is carrying out an inventory of the existing written laboratory quality standards or guidelines and the national and international laboratory EQAS available worldwide. The global database will allow WHO, OIE, FAO and IAEA to better identify the resources and/or needs for developing laboratory quality standards and EQAS, and guide the organizations in providing support to Member States where significant gaps are identified. To participate in the survey or for further information, please visit: http://www.who.int/ihr/lyon/eqassurvey/en/index.html The survey is available in English, French, Russian and Spanish. Deadline for submission: 9 October 2009
The purpose of this workshop was to enable participants to better understand the IHR, discuss the respective roles of IHR and the BTWC, and encourage multi-sectoral collaboration to promote capacity building in the fields of disease surveillance, detection, diagnosis, and containment. The workshop focused on identifying which core capacities are necessary to implement the IHR, and which capacities must be developed by States Parties to prepare and respond to a public health emergency of international concern. The workshop included a case study that engaged workshop participants in active decision making around a fictional scenario. For further information: ihrinfo@who.int
What’s new in risk and disease control
On 25-27 August 2009, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) convened the workshop, “Travel and tourism under pandemic conditions”. The workshop brought together over 30 representatives from public administrations, the private sector and international organizations. WHO representatives were invited to provide guidance on IHR in light of light of pandemic (H1N1) 2009. The overall objective of the workshop was to anticipate and plan for challenges that the current pandemic may bring in the coming months. For further information contact: ihrinfo@who.int
The objective of the WHO informal technical consultation was to reach consensus on the proposed methodology, tools, strategy and procedures for research on health measures at points of entry. Discussions focused on lessons learned from pandemic (H1N1) 2009. Expected results of the proposed research project include a better understanding of the type, effectiveness, and resources required for public health control measures applied at points of entry (PoE); identification of the challenges in the application or non application of public health control measures at PoE; identification of criteria to be used for decision making in the application of particular public health control measures at PoE, and possible guidance in the development of core capacities at PoE. Participants included experts from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hamburg Port Health Center, the Airports Council International (ACI), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), International Aviation Transport Association (IATA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Shipping Federation (ISF). For further information, contact: ihrtransport@who.int
WHO Headquarters and the six Regional Offices met with the network of the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (EARSS) to identify potential synergies within the scope of an expanded network of laboratories. The objective of this network of networks would be to generate laboratory-based surveillance data on antimicrobial resistance and make the data available to member laboratories. Participants of the meeting also explored opportunities for partnering EARSS member laboratories with laboratories in resource-limited countries to contribute to WHO global strategy for worldwide surveillance of drug resistance. For further information, contact: ihrinfo@who.int
The aim of CAPSCA is to help reduce the risk of spread of pandemic influenza, and other communicable diseases that are capable of causing serious ill health by means of cooperative arrangements between participating states. The objective of the Asia-Pacific region meeting was to develop technical guidance on specific topics relevant to preparedness planning in the aviation sector that are currently approached differently from one state to another. The risk in the aviation sector can be mitigated and managed by implementation through better awareness and the development of emergency response plans for air transport. WHO supports CAPSCA while providing assistance to states in implementing these plans as part of the core capacity requirements for points of entry. The meeting included representatives from Thai Airways International Public Company Ltd., Bangkok Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, WHO Headquarters and the Regional Office for the Western Pacific, International Air Transport Association (IATA), International Civil Aviation Organization, (ICAO) and IOM. For further information contact: ihrtransport@who.int
TERN is a grouping of the leading tourism associations around the world that was launched in April 2006 under the auspices of the World Tourism Organization. The overall objective of the network is to make travel and destinations safe for tourists. In the face of pandemic (H1N1) 2009, UNWTO took the initiative in mobilizing the travel trade industries and has been convening regular teleconferences with WHO and other UN agencies and stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry. The guiding principles of TERN are to: share real time information and ideas; give clear, concise and geographically specific public messages; and seek close media liaison to better share information as necessary. For further information:http://www.ternalert.org/about/about_tern/Default.aspx http://www.ternalert.org/about/about_tern/Default.aspx
The independent evaluation of the major barriers to interrupting polio transmission is well underway, and team leaders are expected to present their recommendations to the Oversight Committee at the end of September. Five sub-teams have been formed of which four have been deployed to Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan - the remaining endemic countries – and the fifth team is focusing on issues relating to wild poliovirus' international spread. The evaluation was requested by WHO's Executive Board in January 2009, two years after the start of the “Intensified Eradication Effort”. It has been charged with identifying area-specific solutions to the barriers to interrupting polio transmission in each affected country. The recommendations will lead to area-specific action plans, that will be incorporated into the 2010- 2014 Strategic Plan of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. For further information: http://www.polioeradication.org/content/general/LatestNews200908.asp#03
Acute respiratory diseases (ARDs) are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality from infectious disease in the world. ARDs are also among the most frequent reasons for consulting a health-care worker or being admitted to a health-care facility and the recent epidemics of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), have demonstrated the critical importance of effective infection-control measures in health care. The newly released Infectioncontrol measures for health care of patients with acute respiratory diseases in community settings: Guide for trainers and trainees was developed to help community and other healthcare workers better recognize patients with symptoms of ARDs and those who are at the greatest risk of acquiring a severe ARD; and understand how these diseases are transmitted. Raise community awareness of ARDs of potential international concern that may cause epidemics and pandemics, such as SARS and cases of avian influenza in humans.
Trainer’s Guide:
Trainee's Guide:
The 2008 edition of the WHO Outbreak Communication Planning Guide is now available in French and Spanish:
To obtain a printed copy, please contact Ms Tiffany Domingo at domingoc@who.int
What's new in the WHO regions1
The Regional Conference on Pandemic Influenza (H1N1) 2009 gathered over 200 delegates from countries within and outside the African region including public health experts, physicians clinicians, pharmacists, civil society and donors. The main objective of the conference was to strengthen pandemic influenza preparedness and response capacity in the African region. Participating countries shared recent experiences and discussed how to address caps in their respective country pandemic response plans. For further information visit: http://www.afro.who.int
Clinical Management of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus Infection (For the Eastern Mediterranean Region Countries): Interim Guidance from Expert Consultation 17 September 2009:
The PAHO portal includes an interactive map that traces the spread of the pandemic in the Americas:
The objective of the consultation was to critically review influenza pandemic preparedness and response in the Region and identify cooperative strategies for coordinated actions within the scope of the current pandemic and in the future. For further information: ihrinfo@who.int
Representatives from the National IHR Focal Points (IHR NFPs) shared their experiences and lessons learned from pandemic (H1N1) 2009. Participants agreed the important roles of IHR NFPs within the scope of the current pandemic response and identified actions to strengthen NFP functions. For further information: ihrinfo@who.int
1 The six WHO regional offices: AFRO – Regional Office for Africa ; EMRO - Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean; EURO - Regional Office for Europe; PAHO/AMRO – Pan American Sanitary Bureau/Regional Office for the Americas; SEARO - Regional Office for South-East Asia; WPRO - Regional Office for the Western Pacific.
Other NEWS
WHO continues to update pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus to inform countries and the general public on the evolving pandemic. The web page provides complete and up to date coverage of this public health event. Please visit: