In order to raise awareness and understanding of the IHR and their implementation, the WHO has developed over recent years a wide range of guidance and initiatives. These initiatives have targeted professionals currently in function and in roles central to implementation of the IHR. It is however important to ensure that this common understanding of the IHR framework reaches out to other important targets in relevant sectors and persists over the long term, with upcoming generations of public health leaders and managers.
To respond to these needs, WHO has developed the first IHR training toolkit that targets institutions that provide training to current and future epidemiologists. The WHO Regional Office, in collaboration with Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), conducted a training workshop between 20 and 24 August 2013 in Amman, Jordan to pilot test these materials. Epidemiologists enrolled in the field epidemiology training programmes and national IHR focal points from Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen participated in the workshop. This workshop represented fruitful collaboration between WHO and EMPHNET and it was agreed to continue such collaboration to support IHR implementation in the Region.
