Highlights of the IANPHI Executive Board Meeting

The IANPHI Executive Board held a virtual meeting on August 31, 2021. IANPHI President Duncan Selbie welcomed board members, as well as the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the IANPHI Regional Networks, the representatives of the IANPHI Foundation, the IANPHI Offices staff, IANPHI Strategic Adviser and guests of IANPHI-member national public health institutes (NPHI) from Colombia’s National Health Institute, Public Health England, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and Santé publique France. The quorum to vote on the decisions was reached with eight members in attendance out of fourteen, in addition to one proxy.

President's Updates

WHO-IANPHI Collaboration

The current ongoing discussions between WHO and IANPHI embrace different interactions to formally strengthen the collaboration.

• Some Executive Board members participated in a meeting convened by the WHO headquarters on August 20. The Global Strategic Preparedness Network (GSPN) is looking to involve stakeholders in the initiative and IANPHI is interested in making a contribution. A letter of intention from any member interested in joining the network will be necessary. One idea was to first have a small group conversation to determine the best position for IANPHI before engaging in these activities.
• Moreover, IANPHI’s President and members of the Secretariat will meet with several heads of department at the WHO HQ premises during the following week.

WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence

The launch of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence will take place on September 1st and more information will emerge throughout the monthly updates with IANPHI.

BMGF Grand Challenge Opportunity on Integrated Surveillance

IANPHI will apply for a six-month planning grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to work on two main goals: 1) leveraging the member network to support NPHIs in targeted countries to apply to the BMGF Grand Challenge on the development of integrated surveillance; 2) supporting the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. The application’s deadline is September 17, 2021.

IANPHI Strategy 2021-2025 and Action Plan

The IANPHI Strategy 2021-2025, approved by the Board on April 27 and launched on May 26, outlines the five strategic priorities, each with five accompaying actions. The operational implementation is being drafted in the form of an Action Plan, driven by an “80-20 approach”, in which 80% of the activities and its outcomes are already defined and the remaining 20% is dedicated to new, flexible requests. Since the terms of reference were approved by the Working Group last week, one-on-one discussions with members and external stakeholders engagement will be able to start in September. In this way, common themes and a targeted approach for resources, funding and governance can emerge. The intention is to present the document during the next EB meeting at the end of October.

Agency for Public Health Education Accreditation

IANPHI, as a member of the Agency for Public Health Education Accreditation (APHEA), jointly with ASPHER, was represented to the APHEA General Assembly held at the end of July where discussions regarding the budget and the strategy were held. A Working Group on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) was established in 2020 led by an IANPHI consultant. Its intention is to look at CPD accreditation of programs to build the capacity and capacities of public health professionals.

IANPHI Position Paper on NPHIs and Climate Change

The IANPHI Working Group on Public Health and Climate Change presented a draft position paper, in the context of COP26 and the French Presidency of the European Union in 2022. Executive Board members were asked to send their comments in written form to the Secretariat and, subject to those edits, the document will be considered approved.

A survey organized earlier this year allowed some recommendations to emerge, namely: 1) to establish a training working group as a core component of IANPHI with clear terms of reference and an annual action plan; 2) to develop activities that identify sources of training programmes and provide information to members, seek alliances within members’ networks, provide advice and guidance and meet their training needs; and 3) to identify resources, funding sources and sponsorships that can support the development of joint interest training.

Given that many organizations have now highlighted the need for capacity development in public health, IANPHI has to define its genuine contribution or added value to those organizations. The topic will be reintroduced during the next EB meeting in October along with the decision on the Action Plan.

This online version of the IANPHI Executive Board meeting report reflects actions taken at the most recent meeting of the IANPHI Executive Board and is provided for the convenience of IANPHI members. This online document is not the official, complete record of the actions of the IANPHI Executive Board, it is merely a summary of actions taken. The IANPHI Executive Board’s official minutes, in their entirety, are on file with the IANPHI Secretariat. Should you have any questions about this online summary of the agenda, actions taken, or the minutes of the meetings of the IANPHI Executive Board, please contact the IANPHI Secretariat at secretariat@ianphi.org.