The National Public Health Institute (NPHI) is hosting a collaborative workshop to conduct a 2nd Joint External Evaluation (JEE) aimed at assessing Kenya’s compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005).
The three day event happening in Naivasha, Nakuru County is bringing together stakeholders from multiple sectors including representatives of various Ministries led by MoH as well as partners such as World Health Organisation [WHO].
The acting Director General for NPHI Dr Kamene Kimenye while addressing on the Health System in Kenya underscored the government’s commitment of prevention, detection and response to public health emergencies whether occurring naturally or due to deliberate or accidental events at all levels.
She said in line with legal notice No. 14 highlighting its functions, NPHI strives to establish mechanisms geared towards detection and building of appropriate response of outbreaks and emergencies at the national, county, sub-county and community levels.
“The thought of having NPHI in Kenya
begun way back in 2011 through partnership with relevant stakeholders. Since then we got involved in writing justification and concept notes until 21 January 2022 when there was a Presidential executive order published as legal notice No. 14 in the Kenya Gazette leading to its establishment. Efforts to be independent have intensified during this transition period.A lot of activities are lined up.We have applied for the Pandemic Fund which is critical investments to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities” she said.
As part of its core mandate, NPHI is expected to conduct monitoring and evaluation of projects and research to identify ways of improving the public health system including emergency response and surveillance, and to prevent public health problems from occurring thus forming the basis of an outbreak investigation.
The ongoing exercise is a collective effort between the country’s own experts and the external evaluation team, who will review and assess various aspects of local public health security and emergency preparedness systems.
Among other areas deliberated upon as presided over by experts present are National vaccine access and delivery, Surveillance, Immunization Priority , Health service provision, Food safety and Linking Public Health with Security.
The JEE which was developed by WHO in collaboration with initiatives such as the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) helps countries identify the most critical gaps within their human and animal health systems in order to prioritize opportunities for enhanced preparedness and response.
It is a multisectoral process recognizing that infectious disease threats to humans can emerge from other humans,commercial livestock, and wildlife;
and surveillance, testing and response capabilities need to exist to respond to threats that could arise from any of these sectors.
Just like the rest of science-based global NPHIs,Dr Kamene led Semi Autonomous Government Agency (SAGA) remains firmly focused on conducting and coordinating public health functions and programs to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats.
It seeks to address health disparities, promote health equity, enhance access to quality healthcare, and strengthen preparedness for infectious diseases and emerging pandemics through yet to be launched Strategic Plan.
The forum has attracted significant interest from several representatives of over 7 African countries alongside 14 partners all of whom have reiterated their commitment of examining capacities across relevant technical areas to establish a baseline assessment, enabling countries to have a greater understanding of their gaps and weaknesses in health security, so they can focus efforts to improve in these areas.
