Upcoming CSTE Webinar - IHR in the U.S. - 2/5/13

CSTE Webinar: The International Health Regulations

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Description:
CSTE will be holding a webinar on the International Health Regulations (IHR) on Tuesday, February 5, at 2 pm ET in follow-up to a 2012 assessment on state experiences with the IHR. This webinar is intended to raise awareness about the purpose and functions of the IHR in the U.S. and will focus on the assessment and reporting of potential Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC). Presenters will summarize key findings from the assessment on state awareness and implementation of the IHR, provide an overview of the IHR, and describe a specific event that was notified to WHO as a potential PHEIC.

Presenters:
Dr. Stephen Ostroff, MD
Formerly of Pennsylvania Department of Health

Katrin S. Kohl, MD, PhD, MPH/DTM
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC

Aaron T. Fleischauer, PhD, MSPH
CDC Career Epidemiology Field Officer, North Carolina Division of Public Health

To participate in this webinar, you must REGISTER HERE by Monday, February 4.

After registration, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session. Please check the WebEx system requirements before the webinar and contact WebEx Support for technical troubleshooting.

Background on IHR:
The International Health Regulations (IHR) are a binding agreement accepted by all Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO), including the U.S. The IHR are intended to enable early detection and rapid notification of potential Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) to allow for a globally-harmonized response to minimize the spread of disease across international borders. Obligations for IHR implementation lie with the federal government. In the U.S., the reliance of the federal government on state and local public health jurisdictions for the implementation of public health programs and surveillance was acknowledged in a reservation to the IHR. Oversight of the U.S. government-wide implementation of the IHR lies with the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designed a process of assessing health events in the U.S. for potential reporting to WHO under the IHR. Information about events is primarily in the hands of local and state public health partners.

Highlight ISDS Workshop: Assessment tools to meet the core capacities of the surveillance goal of the 2005 International Health Regulations

2012 Pre-Conference Workshops

Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina

1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego, California 92101 

Resolution WHA65.23, developed at the World Health Assembly in May 2012, recognizes the importance of having tools and procedures available for the continuous monitoring of core capacities specified in the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHRs). The resolution urges state parties, “… to take the necessary steps to prepare and carry out appropriate national implementation plans in order to ensure the required strengthening, development and maintenance of the core public health capacities...”

 

In order to directly address the needs discussed at the World Health Assembly, ISDS, with support from WHO, is developing a one-day, hands-on training designed to help nations meet the core capacities of the surveillance goal of the 2005 IHRs. The training will feature an overview of the IHRs (2005) by Dr. Stella Chungong, lead of the IHR Monitoring Team at the World Health Organization. This overview will be followed by an introduction to concepts and tools to assess current performance and gaps in performance by Dr. Scott McNabb, Public Health Practice, LLC. Participants will also have an opportunity to implement these tools on indicators specific to their country (or on sample indicators).

The final session of the Pre-Conference Workshop is called the ‘Swap Meet’ – an interactive session during which participants may walk around to tables and informally discuss topics and systems with system developers, users, and content experts.

Reserve your space and register now.

Find information on other Pre-Conference Workshop Track options here.

This Pre-Conference Workshop Track is being sponsored in part by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

ISDS's Global Outreach Committee hosted an International Health Regulations Webinar Series featuring both Dr. Chungong and Dr. McNabb. View the recordings here.