Salutogena

ANGUILLA -- Health Planner, Lynrod Brooks recently attended a regional meeting on the 'Implementation of the International Health Regulations, Opportunities and Challenges of Implementation'. It was held in Quito, Ecuador and attended by officials from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and regional representatives.

The purpose of the meeting was to contribute to the progress in compliance with the requirements of the International Health Regulations through strengthening coordination and sharing of experiences between member states and PAHO and WHO.

Brooks described the workshop as timely in that the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with national and regional partners including PAHO, has been proactive on innovative measures at national level in order to ensure successful implementation of the regulations.

He noted that the Ministry has planned a second sensitization workshop on the Implementation Health Regulations (IHR) and its reguirements for a number of key stakeholders including port workers, immigration, customs, agriculture, fisheries, the Health Authority personnel and funeral directors.

The Health Planner went on to say that an action plan for implementation of the IHR is being finalised and it is imperative that all the relevant stakeholders are involved in this process. He said that he is convinced that this approach will pay dividends, especially when it has become evident that the health sector has theenormous challenge of responding in the face of inadequate human resources.

The agenda at the regional meeting focused on: Global Partnership-Regional and National Partnerships; National Surveillance Systems, prevention, control and response to events of public health concern; Public Health Security in Travel and Transport; Rights and Obligations and Procedures; WHO global alert and response system and management of specific risks.