International Health Regulations Public Health Compliance Training Course

Course overview

Public health agencies, ministries, ports, laboratories and healthcare providers must detect, assess and communicate events that may pose an international public health risk. Delays in applying the International Health Regulations (IHR) can lead to incomplete risk assessments, unclear escalation routes, missed notification deadlines and inconsistent communication with the WHO National IHR Focal Point. This course gives practitioners a practical method for turning IHR obligations into operational procedures during outbreaks, chemical incidents, radiological events and health measures at points of entry.

Participants work through the IHR (2005) framework, including Annex 1 core capacities, Annex 2’s decision instrument, event verification, notification and information-sharing requirements, and the roles of National IHR Focal Points and competent authorities. They learn to distinguish routine surveillance signals from potentially notifiable events, document an Annex 2 assessment, prepare an internal escalation brief, map point-of-entry responsibilities, and use State Party Annual Reporting and Joint External Evaluation evidence to identify capacity gaps.

Instructor-led technical sessions are paired with scenario work based on a cross-border outbreak and a point-of-entry incident. Participants complete decision logs, notification-ready event summaries, stakeholder maps and corrective-action priorities rather than relying on abstract policy discussion. Each participant leaves with an IHR compliance action pack: an Annex 2 assessment template, internal notification workflow, role-and-contact map, and a 90-day improvement plan tailored to their organisation’s remit.

The course is suited to professionals who contribute to surveillance, emergency preparedness, border health, laboratory coordination, risk communication or regulatory compliance. It is equally useful for managers responsible for assuring that local operational arrangements support national IHR obligations and can withstand external review.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply the Annex 2 decision instrument to assess whether a public health event may require notification to WHO.
• Map IHR Annex 1 core-capacity requirements against an organisation’s surveillance, response and communication arrangements.
• Prepare a documented event assessment and notification-ready briefing for escalation through the National IHR Focal Point.
• Differentiate notification, consultation, verification and information-sharing pathways under the IHR (2005).
• Design an internal escalation workflow with named decision points, evidence requirements and communication responsibilities.
• Assess point-of-entry health measures against IHR responsibilities for designated airports, ports and ground crossings.
• Use WHO SPAR and Joint External Evaluation indicators to identify, prioritise and evidence IHR capacity improvements.
• Produce a 90-day IHR compliance action plan with owners, milestones, assurance measures and escalation risks.

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Public Health Emergency Preparedness Managers — who must translate IHR obligations into tested operational arrangements
• National IHR Focal Point Support Staff — who coordinate event assessment, verification and communications with WHO
• Epidemiologists and Surveillance Leads — who must escalate unusual signals using a defensible international-risk assessment
• Port Health and Border Health Officers — who manage health measures and coordination at points of entry
• Laboratory and Biosafety Managers — who support timely detection, confirmation and reporting of public health threats
• Health Ministry Policy and Compliance Officers — who monitor national readiness and evidence progress against IHR capacities

Requirements and prerequisites

This is a foundation-to-intermediate course and does not require previous formal IHR training. Participants should have a working awareness of their organisation’s public health incident-reporting route, basic outbreak or incident terminology, and the role of surveillance, laboratories, emergency response or border health in their setting. Experience of completing incident reports, risk assessments or situation reports is helpful but not essential. Participants should be able to read operational guidance and discuss case evidence in groups. No legal qualification, epidemiology degree, specialist statistical software or prior WHO reporting-system access is required; complete beginners should expect structured guidance through the IHR framework.

Training methodology

The five-day programme combines instructor-led interpretation of IHR provisions with guided application to realistic public health events. Participants use annotated WHO materials, work in small incident-management groups, and test decisions against an outbreak, chemical exposure and border-health scenario. Workshops focus on completing an Annex 2 decision record, drafting an escalation brief, mapping communication routes and comparing local arrangements with SPAR and JEE indicators. Daily facilitator feedback improves the documents produced, and the final session converts findings into an organisation-specific 90-day IHR compliance plan.

Course outline

Day 1: IHR framework and public health responsibilities

• Purpose, scope and legal structure of the International Health Regulations (2005)
• Public health risks covered by biological, chemical and radiological events
• Roles of States Parties, WHO, National IHR Focal Points and competent authorities
• IHR Annex 1 core capacities and implementation expectations
• IHR Annex 2 decision instrument and its four assessment questions
• Notification, consultation, verification and information-sharing obligations
• IHR amendments and their operational implications for national preparedness

Workshop: Participants map their organisation’s role in an IHR event pathway and produce a responsibility-and-escalation map.

Day 2: Detecting and assessing potentially notifiable events

• Surveillance signals, event-based surveillance and indicator-based surveillance
• Case definitions, event verification and minimum evidence requirements
• Assessing seriousness and public health impact under Annex 2
• Assessing unusualness or unexpectedness of an event
• Assessing international spread and travel or trade implications
• Managing uncertainty, incomplete data and evolving epidemiological evidence
• Documenting an auditable Annex 2 decision record

Workshop: Using a simulated cross-border outbreak, participants complete an Annex 2 assessment and produce a justified escalation recommendation.

Day 3: Notification, coordination and risk communication

• National IHR Focal Point communication routes and 24-hour accessibility
• Content and quality checks for notification-ready event information
• Internal incident command, decision authorities and approval thresholds
• WHO requests for verification and time-sensitive response coordination
• Situation reports, event updates and information-management discipline
• Risk communication principles for affected communities and international partners
• Confidentiality, data protection and controlled release of event information

Workshop: Participants draft an internal escalation brief and communication workflow for a rapidly evolving public health event.

Day 4: Core capacities and points of entry

• WHO State Party Annual Reporting process and capacity indicators
• Joint External Evaluation methodology and technical-area evidence
• Preparedness, surveillance, laboratory, workforce and emergency-response capacity links
• Designated points of entry and IHR responsibilities for airports, ports and ground crossings
• Public health contingency plans for ill travellers and affected conveyances
• Coordination between port health, customs, immigration, transport operators and emergency services
• Proportionate health measures and avoidance of unnecessary interference with traffic and trade

Workshop: Teams conduct a gap assessment for a fictional international airport and produce prioritised corrective actions against IHR requirements.

Day 5: Assurance, improvement and workplace application

• Building an IHR compliance register and evidence repository
• Translating SPAR and JEE findings into operational improvement actions
• Assigning owners, deadlines, dependencies and assurance measures
• Testing notification workflows through table-top exercises
• Measuring timeliness, completeness and quality of event escalation
• Governance reporting for senior leaders and cross-sector partners
• Developing a 90-day IHR compliance action plan

Workshop: Participants present a 90-day IHR compliance action plan and receive peer and facilitator challenge on priorities, ownership and evidence.

Tools & standards covered

International Health Regulations (2005), IHR Annex 2 Decision Instrument, WHO State Party Annual Reporting (SPAR) tool, WHO Joint External Evaluation (JEE) tool

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions