Presentation delivered by Dr Jaouad Mahjour, Director of Programme Management at the 62nd Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean

1. Progress on emergency
preparedness and response
Agenda item 2(c)
62nd session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean
58 October 2015

2. Overview
• More than half of countries in the Region affected by
emergencies
• Level 3 emergencies in the Syrian Arab Republic, Iraq
and Yemen
• More than 60 million men, women and children in
need of humanitarian assistance
• Almost 6 million registered refugees and 21 million
internally displaced persons
• Highest rates of malnutrition in the world as a result of
emergencies
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Progress on emergency preparedness and response

3. Critical functions for
emergency response
To deliver on its core commitments, WHO must fulfil four critical
functions:
– Leadership: coordinate health sector/cluster response
– Technical expertise: ensure provision of technical guidelines,
implement/strengthen disease surveillance systems, provide
health services through partners; cover critical gaps
– Information: coordinate collection, analysis and dissemination
of essential data on health risks, needs, gaps and performance
– Core services: ensure logistics, office establishment, surge
and personnel management, procurement and supply
management, administration, finance and grant management
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Progress on emergency preparedness and response

4. Funding status
• UN strategic response plans for eight countries in the
Region for 2015 currently funded at 20.3% for health
(US$ 83.5 million received to date out of a requested
US$ 411.5 million)
• Lack of funding is impeding health response and has
threatened the closure of public health functions and
health services in Iraq and Somalia
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Progress on emergency preparedness and response

5. Organizational challenges
• Limited coordination with departments in the Regional
Office, resulting in lack of qualified surge expertise
• Weak leadership and coordination / limited partnerships
with nongovernmental organizations in some countries,
resulting in an inadequate response on the ground,
especially in hard-to-access areas
• Lack of / unimplemented streamlined WHO rules and
regulations for expedited workforce, administration,
logistics in emergencies
• Limited health information and intelligence to guide an
effective response
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Progress on emergency preparedness and response

6. Organizational reform
• To ensure organizational capability and flexibility to respond
in an evolving environment, WHO is reviewing the way it
works in emergencies so that it is better equipped to
respond and save lives
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Progress on emergency preparedness and response

7. Progress on emergency preparedness and response
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8. 8
Emergency Planning and Monitoring
• Reports directly to the Director of
Programme Management
• Strengthens the operational planning
process in line with the outbreak
crises and response guidance note
• Aligns donor reports with WHO’s
mandatory reports
• Ensures regular monitoring and
evaluation of our work to identify
gaps and capture lessons learnt
Progress on emergency preparedness and response

9. 9
Emergency Coordination and Response Cluster
Progress on emergency preparedness and response
Emergency Response and Operations
• Operationalizes WHO’s core
commitments in emergency response
and provides country field support.
• Coordinates timely response
operations, staff and logistics
deployment to the emergency scene
as soon as a declaration of an
emergency takes place, including
Grade 2 and 3 emergencies

10. 10
Emergency Coordination and Response Cluster
Progress on emergency preparedness and response
Emergency Coordination and Support
• Ensures that WHO is ready to lead the
health sector and promote the visibility
of its work in emergencies
• Provides support to leadership,
coordination and performance
evaluation of the health cluster/sector
when activated
• Maintains partnerships with
stakeholders and donors within the
humanitarian arena

11. 11
Polio Eradication and Emergency Readiness
Progress on emergency preparedness and response
Emergency Readiness Unit
• Housed within the Centre for Emergency
Readiness and Polio Eradication in
Amman
• Ensures organizational readiness for
graded and public health emergencies
• Organizes all capacity-building activities
to expand institutional readiness
• Develops and promote a fully functional
surge mechanism and manage, together
with the Regional Office and the Dubai
Regional humanitarian operations/
logistics hub

12. Resolution EM/RC61/R.1
• A Regional Emergency Solidarity Fund to ensure a more
predictable and reliable funding mechanism (January 2016)
• A Regional Emergency Advisory Group to provide
independent advice and assistance to the Regional Director
on policy and strategic matters related to emergencies
(September 2015)
• An expanded roster of trained experts to ensure the
availability of surge expertise at the onset of an emergency.
• A dedicated humanitarian logistics hub to ensure adequate
stockpiling of critical medical supplies and support a timely
response to emergency events in the Region and beyond
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Progress on emergency preparedness and response