Arusha, 31 March 2026 – Tanzania’s Ministry of Health, backed by the Pandemic Fund and the World Health Organization (WHO), ended a four-day technical review on 27 March with a revised set of actions meant to plug gaps found in January–March implementation of International Health Regulations (IHR) core capacities.
Participants at the quarterly IHR Technical Working Group session said the 7-1-7 target—seven days to detect, one to notify and seven to respond to an outbreak—remains the benchmark for the coming quarter. National IHR Focal Point Dr Vida Mmbaga told delegates the exercise “must clearly show the impact we are making” and align spending with the National Action Plan for Health Security.
Director of Preventive Services Dr Otilia Gowelle urged ministries, livestock, environment and wildlife agencies to keep joint oversight, warning that isolated efforts weaken the IHR architecture. WHO Emergency Preparedness and Response Cluster Lead Dr Faraja Msemwa praised Tanzania for “steadily” improving its State Party Self-Assessment Annual Reporting and Joint External Evaluation scores across both mainland and Zanzibar, while pledging continued UN support.
The revised April — June work-plan, drawn from the five-year National Action Plan for Health Security, now goes to sector leads for budgeting ahead of the next TWG meeting in June.
Source: africa
