The IHR require that States Parties to identify ports with staff able to issue ship sanitation certificates. This requires the availability of trained personnel to conduct ship inspections at ports. Ships travelling internationally are required to be inspected every six months and renew their certificates.

Further to the publication of the handbook for ship inspection and issuance of ship sanitation certificates, the WHO, in consultation with experts around the world, is developing a blended learning training toolkit (involving distance learning and face-to-face training courses) for States Parties to train port health inspectors to inspect ships and deliver sanitation certificates to ships. The face-to-face component of the training toolkit was pilot tested in a training course organized by the Ministry of Health in Turkey and supported by WHO. This event provided opportunities for both training of personnel and evaluation of the training methodology and materials. Other training events are being organized in coordination with WHO regional offices and will be carried out in 2013.

Related links

Handbook for ship inspection and issuance of ship sanitation certificates