Joint external evaluation of the International Health Regulations (2005) core capacities of Nigeria

Book excerpt: The Joint External Evaluation (JEE) team acknowledges Nigeria for volunteering for a second JEE after holding its first in 2017 and an internal mid-term JEE in 2019. This JEE uses the third edition of the JEE tool. This revised third edition of the tool incorporates relevant lessons from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies. Nigeria’s broad efforts to prepare for and respond to emergencies have clearly facilitated its whole-of government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The unprecedented nature, magnitude and wide societal impact of the pandemic has led to improvisation and innovation. As a result, emergency risk management stakeholders in Nigeria have been keen to combine the many lessons of the pandemic response – consolidated through intra-action reviews – and to address gaps in IHR core capacities identified through the JEE. The JEE team commends Nigeria for its efforts to monitor and improve health security with openness, transparency and goodwill.