Mbabane- The Government of Eswatini, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), has successfully conducted the Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Scoping exercise. Eswatini ranks as the 24th African nation to complete this exercise.

The EPR Scoping exercise is a component of the Regional Strategy for Health Security and Emergencies 2022–2030, adopted at the 2022 WHO Regional Committee meeting held annually and attended by health Ministers in the African region. This strategy launched three EPR initiatives aimed at assisting member states in preparing for, detecting, responding to, and recovering from outbreaks and other emergencies, thereby contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3- Good health and well-being.

These initiatives include the Prepare Initiative, promoting Resilience of Systems for Emergencies (PROSE), the Detect Initiative - Transforming African Surveillance Systems (TASS), and the Response Initiative - Strengthening and Utilizing Response Groups for Emergencies (SURGE).

In June 2024, a team of experts from the WHO Regional Office for Africa and headquarters visited Eswatini to guide and lead the scoping exercise. The exercise aimed to sensitize government and key stakeholders on the EPR initiatives, identify existing resources, gaps, and priorities, review national EPR capacities, and draft a national costed roadmap for the rollout of the EPR initiatives.

During their visit, the team, led by WHO Representative Dr. Susan Tembo, met with national authorities, including Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini, the Health Parliamentary Portfolio Committee, Ambassadors, International and Development partners, Academia, and other in-country stakeholders. They discussed the rollout of the initiatives and agreed on a timeframe for the corresponding activities.

Dr. Susan Tembo emphasized that the EPR Flagship Initiative is a testament to the global commitment to protecting public health in the face of adversity. She highlighted the importance of collaboration with other sectors and international cooperation and partnerships in ensuring a comprehensive and dynamic approach to health emergencies.

Honorable Mduduzi Matsebula, Minister of Health, affirmed that health security is a priority for the Kingdom of Eswatini. He cited various milestones achieved by the country in strengthening health emergencies, including the development of high-level guiding documents, the creation of an emergency stockpile, and the successful conduct of a full-scale simulation exercise (SIMEX) in November 2023.

The scoping exercise revealed a high political commitment to strengthen health security in the country and significant progress made on IHR core capacities. The Kingdom of Eswatini is currently preparing for the External Joint Evaluation Exercise (JEE) scheduled in September 2024.