Minimum standards of preparedness for WHO Offices
Operational Implications
All WHO Country Offices should be prepared, enabled and ready to deal with a crisis. The following aspects should be covered by a preparedness plan to be activated immediately once the Government and the UN Country Team declare a state of emergency.
1. Operating procedures: activated automatically once the Government or the UNCT have declared a state of emergency (Day 1)
Human resources
- Implement WHO procedures for quick recruitment of new temporary staff (APW, SSA STC etc.: see manual)
- Reassign tasks within the office – designate technical and logistics/admin focal points and assign secretarial/driver support
- Review overtime and leaves to ensure all staff get adequate rest
- Activate measures and mechanisms for managing staff’s stress
Administration
- Circulate a list of revised office functions (in office, to MOH and partners, to regional office (RO) and HQ)
- Facilitate emergency visa and travel arrangements for arriving experts/surge teams
- Arrange personal and administrative support to incoming experts
- Implement WHO emergency administrative procedures (see manual)
Finance
- Arrange with HQ and RO and obtaining additional cash and budget lines for immediate expenditures
- Implement agreed emergency financial procedures (6% programme support costs, reports and others)
2. Information management: activated as from Day 1
Internal
- Inform RO of the event(s)
- Submit regular situation reports to RO/HQ according to agreed timing and standard formats
- Inform WHO offices in neighbouring countries if and as appropriate
- Identify information needs and set information flow policies and guidelines
- Open a special file (hard copy and e-copy in a shared folder on the server) – set up a common email address to be used for information sharing
- Provide country profile and briefing packages to new staff, visiting experts and surge teams
- Organize/attend teleconferences
- Arrange translation services (live translation of meetings, accompany experts on visits, translate documents (those received from MOH as well as WHO documents to share with MOH)
- Provide regular briefing and circulate updates to office staff
External
- Support MOH in taking the lead for coordinated rapid health assessment
- Promote consensus, organize, coordinate, participate and ensure national participation in rapid need assessments.
- Disseminate defined protocols (case definitions, formats, methodologies etc. ) and promote their use for data collection , analysis and reporting
- Translate and disseminate technical reports and guidelines
- Prepare information packages and/or bulletins, etc to share with UN Agencies, NGOs, donors, public.
- Deal with media according to defined policies
3. Coordination: (on-going) activated around the crisis as from Day 1
- Establish regular contacts with emergency focal points for decision making and technical support roles at RO and HQ
- Keep Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator and others partners informed on WHO functions, activities and staff changes
- Take the lead in organizing international support to the MOH
- Chair and/or co-chair, and provide secretarial support to health coordination mechanisms and meetings
- Promote set-up of donor task forces on health
- Strengthen or promote the establishment of emergency health unit at MOH liasing with other emergency government bodies
- Make arrangements with other UN agencies and NGO for temporary loans of staff, warehouse and office space, meeting rooms and vehicles.
4. Logistics: activated as from Day 1
- Re-arrange office space including setting up of an emergency operation room and equipped work spaces for incoming experts
- Strengthen office ITC capacity
- Reach understanding and coordinating with RO on fast procurement procedures and cash flow
- Reach agreements on expediting or getting exemptions for national custom clearance procedures
- Reinforce/establish warehouse capacity and supply tracking system
- Promote the implementation of drug donation guidelines
- Strengthen office transport capacity
- Establish/reinforce office emergency power supply
- Ensure stocks of emergency supplies for the office ( including fuel, water, food rations)
- In the case of epidemics, ensure supplies of PPE, vaccines and treatments for staff who may be exposed/at risk of exposure.
5. Security : upgraded as from Day 1
- Certify that staff and premises comply with Minimum Operation Security Standards (MOSS) requirements
- Provide security information packages for incoming experts, surge teams
- Maintain daily coordination with UN designated official for security and updating all staff
- Establish protective measures for the staff
- Consider arrangements for larger safe deposits
- Certify medical evacuation procedures
6. Decision : ( at least for sudden events) consult with partners at country level and with RO and, at the end of Day 1, decide whether to call for surge capacity support.
From a checklist for WHO country office in emergency developed by WHO Representative to Viet Nam. 2003