Joint external evaluation of the International Health Regulations (‎2005)‎ core capacities of Armenia - Mission report, 4-8 December 2023

Overview

During the JEE mission in early December 2023, capacities in 19 technical areas for Armenia were evaluated through a peer-to-peer, consultative process that brought a multi-sectoral group of national subject matter experts together with the multi-national, multi-disciplinary JEE team for a week of discussion, collaboration, and field visits. This process led to consensus on scores and priority actions across the 19 technical areas.

 Armenia’s commitment to strengthening its IHR core capacities is evident from the decision to undertake a second JEE. Since the first JEE was conducted in August 2016, Armenia has worked hard to develop and improve its public health capabilities and capacities. Like all countries, Armenia was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the national and local pandemic responses revealed areas that can be further strengthened, it is noteworthy that a strong and resilient health sector was able to maintain essential health services, as exemplified by the continuation of commendably high vaccination rates by the national immunization programme. The recent humanitarian crisis arising from the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh resulted in forced displacement of more than 100 thousand refugees with a diversity of health issues serve as a reminder for the need to maintain vigilance and be fully prepared to respond to complex emergencies that require strong collaboration between public health, security and other concerned sectors.

Through a careful review of the findings of both the field visits and the plenary and bilateral technical discussions, the external team identified several cross-cutting themes and challenges that impact all 19 technical areas. In view of these findings, four recommendations are proposed.