WHO convened an expert roundtable on developing multisectoral partnership coordination for IHR (2005) and health security which was hosted by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) from 4th to 5th October 2018 in Paris, France.

The purpose of the technical consultation was to identify best practices, case studies and models of functional mechanisms to coordinate multisectoral partnerships for preparedness and global health security at the national level. 37 participants from Member States, technical partners, donors, Non-State Actors, International Organizations and financial institutions reviewed the WHO draft guide for multisectoral partnership coordination for IHR (2005) and health security.

The two-day meeting provided a platform to discuss key elements and strategies for multisectoral coordination. To frame the discussion introductory presentations covered topics such as Health Security Financing, the tripartite collaboration of WHO, OIE and FAO, OIE public-private partnership initiative and the IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and WHO Strategic Partnership for IHR (2005) and Health Security. These were complemented by panel discussions which highlighted that the tripartite collaboration should form the key pillar for multisectoral coordination for preparedness and emphasized the necessity to engage all relevant public sectors and Non-State Actors such as academia and private sector in the process. Working group discussions generated specific input on key approaches and opportunities for establishing as well as maintaining multisectoral coordination at the country level.

The expert roundtable provided specific feedback on the draft guide and proposed a roadmap for implementing the guide and how different actors can support the implementation. The coordination of national priorities and sustainable financial resources, as well as technical investments of all sectors were highlighted as being critical to deliver health security in a truly multisectoral effort.