Round-up of GHSA Steering Group and Action Packages in 2015

GHSA Steering Group Secretariat; GHSA Preparation Task Force Team

Department Director Mika Salminen from Finnish Public Health Institute reported on the process and plans for Pilot Country Assessments. Steering Group countries were congratulated by the Chair on rapid progress since September. Georgia, Peru, Uganda, Portugal, and the United Kingdom agreed to participate in the pilot assessment process, and GHSA Steering Group members have provided experts to participate in the Pilot Country Assessments. The Pilot Assessments are intended to develop approaches for elucidating more specific gaps and capability needs across the 11 Action Package targets. GHSA Steering Group countries, including the U.S., Finland, and Saudi Arabia provided positive comments about the Pilot Assessment recently conducted in Georgia. The gaps in the national systems in pilot countries are being detected and the action packages are working. The first day of the assessment is critical and must be planned carefully. The Peru and Uganda assessments will be complete by the end of February, 2015. There is a strong commitment to the process. However, additional pilot assessments are needed to test the methods and collect experiences.