During the JEE mission in early December 2023, capacities in 19 technical areas for Armenia were evaluated through a peer-to-peer, consultative process that brought a multi-sectoral group of national subject matter experts together with the multi-national, multi-disciplinary JEE team for a week of discussion, collaboration, and field visits. This process led to consensus on scores and priority actions across the 19 technical areas. Armenia’s commitment to strengthening its IHR core capacities is evident from the decision to undertake a second JEE. Since the first JEE was conducted in August 2016, Armenia has worked hard to develop and improve its public health capabilities and capacities. Like all countries, Armenia was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the national and local pandemic responses revealed areas that can be further strengthened, it is noteworthy that a strong and resilient health sector was able to maintain essential health services, as exemplified by the continuation of commendably high vaccination rates by the national immunization programme. The recent humanitarian crisis arising from the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh resulted in forced displacement of more than 100 thousand refugees with a diversity of health issues serve as a reminder for the need to maintain vigilance and be fully prepared to respond to complex emergencies that require strong collaboration between public health, security and other concerned sectors. Through a careful review of the findings of both the field visits and the plenary and bilateral technical discussions, the external team identified several cross-cutting themes and challenges that impact all 19 technical areas. In view of these findings, four recommendations are proposed.

Since its independence was restored in 1991, Estonia has restructured its public health and health security landscape, and joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. Since this, and despite its relatively small geographical size and population, the country's economic growth and the importance of Estonia and Estonians in the development of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has been much remarked upon. This has brought about interest in the development and uptake of ICT solutions within the health sector, and considerable upgrades to health provision and infrastructure. Due to Estonia's geographical position, health security will always be of significant interest to the country and much has been achieved in the last 20 years. With this combination of factors, the WHO Joint External Evaluation (JEE) in Estonia was deemed of interest not only to Estonia but also as an example of how a small, now highly developed country can work to improve its health security. A further point of interest is that Estonia has, in general, a widely spaced population with low density; another challenge to providing services which needs to be overcome. During the JEE mission to Estonia, capacities in 19 technical areas were evaluated through a peer-to-peer collaborative process that brought subject matter experts together with members of the external assessment team. The team was composed of representatives from 10 Member States, international organizations or academic institutions, engaged in a week-long series of technical discussions and on-site visits. The primary objective of the assessment was to compile a comprehensive array of evidence, encapsulating evaluations, reviews and other relevant insights. The aim was to equip Estonian authorities with actionable information for improving implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, encompassing cost estimates, high-level commitment and accountability. While the assessment itself can facilitate knowledge exchange and networking, it does not improve health security capacities per se. Therefore, identified priority recommendations should be captured in a National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), which in turn drives translation of priorities into concrete technical activities. The external team acknowledges that many recommendations deal with establishing committees, action plans and strategies, all of which may be crucial steps for capacity development, but nevertheless need to be streamlined given constraints on human resource capacity.

In response to the call of the 48th World Health Assembly for a substantial revision of the International Health Regulations, this new edition of the Regulations will enter into force on June 15, 2007. The purpose and scope of the Regulations are "to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks, and which avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade." The Regulations also cover certificates applicable to international travel and transport, and requirements for international ports, airports and ground crossings.

World Health Statistics 2019 summarizes recent trends and levels in life expectancy and causes of death, and reports on the health and health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated targets. Where possible, the 2019 report disaggregates data by WHO region, World Bank income group, and sex; it also discusses differences in health status and access to preventive and curative services, particularly in relation to differences between men and women.

The WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care provide health-care workers (HCWs), hospital administrators and health authorities with a thorough review of evidence on hand hygiene in health care and specific recommendations to improve practices and reduce transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to patients and HCWs. The present Guidelines are intended to be implemented in any situation in which health care is delivered either to a patient or to a specific group in a population. Therefore, this concept applies to all settings where health care is permanently or occasionally performed, such as home care by birth attendants. Definitions of health-care settings are proposed in Appendix 1. These Guidelines and the associated WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy and an Implementation Toolkit (http://www.who.int/gpsc/en/) are designed to offer health-care facilities in Member States a conceptual framework and practical tools for the application of recommendations in practice at the bedside. While ensuring consistency with the Guidelines recommendations, individual adaptation according to local regulations, settings, needs, and resources is desirable. This extensive review includes in one document sufficient technical information to support training materials and help plan implementation strategies. The document comprises six parts.

This volume focuses on Global Catastrophic Biological Risks (GCBRs), a special class of infectious disease outbreaks or pandemics in which the combined capacity of the world’s private and government resources becomes severely strained. These events, of which the 1918 influenza pandemic is emblematic, cause severe disruptions in the normal functioning of the world, exact heavy tolls in terms of morbidity and mortality, and lead to major economic losses. GCBRs can be caused by any type of microorganism, and myriad contextual factors can influence their impact. Additionally, there are cascading questions that arise in connection with GCBR prediction, preparation, and response. This book gathers contributions from thought leaders who discuss the multi-faceted approaches needed in order to address this problem. From understanding the special characteristics of various microbes to financing challenges, the volume provides an essential primer on a neglected but highly relevant topic. Physicians, scientists, policymakers, public health practitioners and anyone with an interest in the field of pandemics, emerging infectious disease, biosecurity, and global health security will find it a valuable and insightful resource.

Social justice is a matter of life and death. It affects the way people live, their consequent chance of illness, and their risk of premature death. We watch in wonder as life expectancy and good health continue to increase in parts of the world and in alarm as they fail to improve in others.

Ten years in public health 2007-2017 chronicles the evolution of global public health over the decade that Margaret Chan served as Director-General at the World Health Organization. This series of chapters evaluates successes setbacks and enduring challenges during the decade. They show what needs to be done when progress stalls or new threats emerge. The chapters show how WHO technical leadership can get multiple partners working together in tandem under coherent strategies. The importance of country leadership and community engagement is stressed repeatedly throughout the chapters. Together we have made tremendous progress. Health and life expectancy have improved nearly everywhere. Millions of lives have been saved. The number of people dying from malaria and HIV has been cut in half. WHO efforts to stop TB saved 49 million lives since the start of this century. In 2015 the number of child deaths dropped below 6 million for the first time a 50% decrease in annual deaths since 1990. Every day 19 000 fewer children die. We are able to count these numbers because of the culture of measurement and accountability instilled in WHO. These chapters tell a powerful story of global challenges and how they have been overcome. In a world facing considerable uncertainty international health development is a unifying – and uplifting – force for the good of humanity.

The 2006 World Health Report focuses on the chronic shortages of doctors, midwives, nurses and other health care support workers in the poorest countries of the world where they are most needed. This is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa, which has only four in every hundred global health workers but has a quarter of the global burden of disease, and less than one per cent of the world's financial resources. Poor working conditions, high rates of attrition due to illness and migration, and education systems that are unable to pick up the slack reflect the depth of the challenges in these crisis countries. This report considers the challenges involved and sets out a 10-year action plan designed to tackle the crisis over the next ten years, by which countries can strengthen their health system by building their health workforces and institutional capacity with the support of global partners.

This study has emerged from an ongoing program of trilateral cooperation between WHO, WTO and WIPO. It responds to an increasing demand, particularly in developing countries, for strengthened capacity for informed policy-making in areas of intersection between health, trade and IP, focusing on access to and innovation of medicines and other medical technologies.