By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leone has completed its 2019 report on its compliance to the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR).
The World Health Organization announced last week that Sierra Leone completed the self-evaluation process which determines a country's health security capacities through a comprehensive multi-sectoral approach involving the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and its partner Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the One Health sector, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Office of National Security and the Environment Protection Agency.
The reporting process entails filling a mandatory IHR State Party Self-Assessment Annual Reporting (SPAR) tool, which obliges countries to report annually to the World Health Assembly (WHA) on their progress and compliance with implementation of the IHR requirements.
IHR is an international treaty signed to by 196 countries, including all WHO member states, to collaborate transparently and with mutual accountability in enhancing global health security through timely information sharing on public health events. Some of the measures countries are required to meet under the agreement include effective surveillance activities at ports, airports and ground crossing points to limit the spread of health risks and diseases across borders, and to prevent unwarranted travel and restrictions on economic activities between and among countries.
Sierra Leone also conducted a Joint External Evaluation (JEE) Self-Assessment Score card 2019 to track the JEE indicators.
Sierra Leone, in 2018, set the pace for the rest of the continent when it became the first African nation to initiate this innovative approach fulfilling the requirement of the IHR.
Implementation of the IHR calls for countries to develop and strengthen specific national public health capacities, identify priority areas for action, develop national IHR implementation plans, maintain and institutionalize such capacities for progressive improvement over time.
WHO plays the coordinating role in the process that involves building capacities through training, development of the tools and guidelines in the reporting.
Dr Evans Liyosi, WHO Country Representative in Sierra Leone, praised the country for the successful completion of the process.
"The self-evaluation is both domestic and international obligations and we are pleased to be supporting Sierra Leone in fulfilling these requirements," he said.
He added: "This country has made considerable progress in the IHR implementation process by improving capacities in surveillance through training of key personnel and establishment of coordination platforms such as the one health programme and has developed a National Action Plan for Health Security which are some of the bench marks of progress."
The findings of the evaluation process were submitted to the WHO IHR Secretariat using the electronic version of SPAR (eSPAR). The eSPAR is being used for the first time by Member States as the new means through which to submit their report.
WHO said the use of the JEE tool to assess the progress indicators has enabled Sierra Leone to compare the 2018 and 2019 results. Hence, the process of identifying high priority activities for NAPHS 2020 operational plan was initiated by the multisector partners during the deliberations. A quarterly monitoring check-in process will be used to monitor progress in the implementation of priority activities in the NAPHS 2020 operational plan that has also been developed.
"In order to make significant progress in the implementation of the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), WHO and other partners have supported the country to establish an accountability framework which seeks to strengthen technical leadership and ownership through the appointment of JEE-NAPHS technical area leads, capacity building and development of Terms of Reference," said Dr Charles Njuguna, WHO Health Security and Emergency Lead in Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone is one of five countries benefitting from support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in its effort in meeting its health security agenda.
Copyright © 2019 Politico Online
