Following the results of the Joint External Evaluation carried out in December 2016, the government of Namibia requested WHO’s support in initiating the development of the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS).

The three-day workshop took place from 15th to 17th August 2017 in Windhoek, Namibia. It brought together 40 representatives from relevant sectors for health security. These included the Ministry of Health and Social Services,

Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Civil Aviation Authority as well as representatives from WHO and the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC).

During the workshop, WHO presented the NAPHS guidance for planning and costing, participants were assigned to technical working groups and populated the Planning Matrix, taking into account the objectives of the plan, priority actions, key activities and responsabilities.

The main outcome of the workshop is a first draft of the NAPHS covering activities to strengthen the IHR capacities and health security.

The country technical working groups will lead the finalization of the action plan. With the support of WHO and partners, the action plan will be presented and costed in the validation workshop at the end of October 2017.

Check out the Photo Gallery of NAPHS Pre-Planning Workshop in Namibia.