IHR News
The WHO quarterly bulletin on IHR implementation
What's new in the WHO regions?
EURO: WORKSHOP ON SHIP SANITATION ISSUES RELATED TO IHR IMPLEMENTATION, 22-24 SEPTEMBER 2008, AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
This event, co-organized by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and The Netherlands National Institute of Public Health and the Environment – Centre for Infectious Disease Control (RIVM-CIb) with the support of IHR Coordination, follows on the pilot Ship Sanitation Workshop for Eastern and Southern European countries, held in Hamburg, Germany in May 2008. The objective of the three day workshop was to facilitate the establishment of IHR core capacities at ports in the States Parties of the WH0 European Region. It was designed to support port health officers in charge of developing core capacities and implementing IHR at ports, and particularly for the inspection and issuance of Ship Sanitation Certificates. The workshop included participants from western and central Europe and China.
PAHO/AMRO: NEW ADVOCACY TOOL FOR IHR IMPLEMENTATION
The Pan American Health Organization/WHO Regional Office for the Americas has produced a poster on the IHR assessment and notification of public health events, available at:
This web page also provides links to helpful documents and tools to support IHR implementation, and updates on progress towards IHR implementation in the region.
SEARO AND WPRO: SECOND REGIONAL AVIATION MEDICINE TEAM - COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES THROUGH AIR TRAVEL (CAPSCA), 12 SEPTEMBER 2008, BANGKOK, THAILAND
The CAPSCA project is a joint initiative under the leadership of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to reduce the risk of spread of avian influenza and similar communicable diseases by air travel. The objective of the second meeting of the regional medicine team in Asia was to continue to develop communications and collaboration between stakeholders, in particular between the public health and aviation sectors, and to revise and further develop the ICAO and IATA pandemic planning guidelines for States. This meeting was also a forum to discuss provisions of IHR and actions taken in the SEARO and WPRO regions, such as the APSED strategy for preparedness, response and airport and activities and WHO’s rapid containment plan and its implications to international traffic.
SEARO AND WPRO: THIRD MEETING OF THE ASIA PACIFIC TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP (TAG) ON EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE (EIDS) 16-18 JULY 2008, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Since July 2006, the Asia Pacific TAG on emerging infectious disease has met each year to review progress made by both Member States and WHO in implementing the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases (APSED) and make recommendations on priority actions. In addition to TAG members, the third meeting included Member States from two WHO regions (SEARO and WPRO), WHO headquarters, donors and partner agencies. Participants reviewed annual progress made in implementing both APSED and the IHR, and made a number of recommendations on priority actions for the coming year. For further information, please contact: ihrinfo@who.int
WPRO: UPDATE ON APSED/IHR CORE CAPACITY ASSESSMENT AND WORKPLAN DEVELOPMENT
Twenty Member States in the WHO Western Pacific Region have completed an assessment using the APSED assessment checklists, including Cambodia, Mongolia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Viet Nam, Papua New Guinea and 13 Pacific Island Countries. As a result of the assessment, 15 Member States have developed a national action plan.