Building core capacities at the designated points of entry according to the International Health Regulations 2005: a review of the progress and prospects in Taiwan

Abstract

Background

As designated points of entry (PoEs) play a critical role in preventing the transmission of international public health risks, huge efforts have been invested in Taiwan to improve the core capacities specified in the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR 2005). This article reviews how Taiwan strengthened the core capacities at the Taoyuan International Airport (TIA) and the Port of Kaohsiung (PoK) by applying a new, practicable model.

Design

An IHR PoE program was initiated for implementing the IHR core capacities at designated PoEs. The main methods of this program were 1) identifying the designated PoEs according to the pre-determined criteria, 2) identifying the competent authority for each health measure, 3) building a close collaborative relationship between stakeholders from the central and PoE level, 4) designing three stages of systematic assessment using the assessment tool published by the World Health Organization (WHO), and 5) undertaking action plans targeting the gaps identified by the assessments.

Results

Results of the self-assessment, preliminary external assessment, and follow-up external assessment revealed a continuous progressive trend at the TIA (86, 91, and 100%, respectively), and at the PoK (77, 97, and 99.9%, respectively). The results of the follow-up external assessment indicated that both these designated PoEs already conformed to the IHR requirements. These achievements were highly associated with strong collaboration, continuous empowerment, efficient resource integration, and sustained commitments.

Conclusions

Considering that many countries had requested for an extension on the deadline to fulfill the IHR 2005 core capacity requirements, Taiwan's experiences can be a source of learning for countries striving to fully implement these requirements. Further, in order to broaden the scope of public health protection into promoting global security, Taiwan will keep its commitments on multisectoral cooperation, human resource capacity building, and maintaining routine and emergency capacities.

• IHR 2005
• core capacity requirements
• points of entry
• capacity building
• cross-sectoral collaboration

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the numerous government agencies and individuals who jointly contributed to the success of fulfillment of IHR core capacities at the designated PoEs in Taiwan through the years. We also thank our partner countries for generously sharing their experiences and providing technical advices. We especially gratefully acknowledge Dr. Kiyosu Taniguchi from Japan, Ms. Teresa Morahan and Ms. Gigi O'Sullivan from Australia, whose expertise and efforts had been fervently devoted in assisting our works.

Conflict of interest and funding

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Notes

¹In Taiwan, a Minister without Portfolio refers to a minister who does not head a particular ministry. Being the premier's key aides, such ministers are responsible in managing and reviewing the affairs of different government ministries and commissions, to enhance the competencies and governance quality of the Cabinet.