BACKGROUND :

With the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014, massive shifts have pushed the agenda of health security forward and these are mainly the following: 1) A review of the International Health Regulations by a global review committee which has put forth a new monitoring and evaluation framework consisting of : state parties annual report; joint external evaluation, after action review; and simulation exercises 2) The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) led by the US, with Indonesia, Finland and South Korea. The main aim of this global alliance is to ensure objective independent capacity assessment and funding to address gaps found. Its tools are aligned with the JEE with WHO playing a key partner role with the US CDC and member states 3) WHO emergency reform which has restructured its program with an ambitious goal of uniformed streamlined process and structures across all three levels of the organization with outlined actions by Member States and Partners before, during and after emergencies. 4) Increased emphasis on creating more resilient health systems, that can prepare for, withstand and cope with unexpected events such as disease outbreaks and natural disasters. 5) In the new draft 13th WHO general programme of work, WHO’s strategic priorities include health emergencies as well as health systems strengthening for UHC. All these developments, have both stimulated and sometimes confused those responsible for health security in countries