Health Harare - An Information bulletin of the WCO Zimbabwe Vol. 15, Sept. 2011

Harare, 18 Oct. 2011 A meeting to accelerate the implementation of International Health Regulations (IHR) in the African Region to support countries to meet the 2012 deadline requirements kicked off in Harare yesterday. The meeting which brought together participants from Cameroon, Togo, Ivory Coast, DRC, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ouagadougou, Libreville, WHO/HQ, and WHO/AFRO, is running from 17—19 October at Meikles Hotel in Harare.

The objectives of the meeting are:

• To share information on IHR countries obligations and IHR Core capacities
• To share an update overview of IHR implementation in the African region
• To Familiarize the participants with the methodology and tools proposed for IHR Desk review and Planning development
• To Plan for an IHR Desk review and Planning development in the selected countries and
• To Agree on the next steps

In her welcoming remarks, WR Zimbabwe, Dr Custodia Mandlhate said the meeting is timely and very important to make sure countries do not miss the 2012 deadline. "During this session you will learn more about extension requests to support State Parties in those conditions," she said. She urged the participants to use the 3 days appropriately in order to help the many countries in the African region that need help in assessing their core capacities.