Many hands, one goal: Papua New Guinea conducts its first Joint External Evaluation to strengthen health security

Papua New Guinea has achieved a major milestone in its national health security journey, completing its first-ever Joint External Evaluation (JEE) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

For five days, from 24 to 28 August 2026, ministers, technical directors and experts from across government sectors, alongside international evaluators, jointly examined the country's capacities under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). This JEE marks the 196th mission completed to date across 130 WHO Member States since 2016.

JEEs are a collaborative multisectoral mechanism through which countries assess capacities to prevent, prepare for, detect, and rapidly respond to public health risks as required under the IHR 2005. By convening leadership from health, agriculture, environment, security, finance and other sectors, JEEs enable countries to comprehensively identify gaps in health security capacities, prioritize preparedness measures, strengthen detection and early response, underscore the importance of partnerships, and map funding pathways for improvement.

Reiterating the value of achieving this milestone, Hon. Dr Billy Joseph, Papua New Guinea’s Minister of Health, HIV/AIDS and National Emergency Services, noted: “Papua New Guinea is one of 28 member states in the WHO Western Pacific Region to complete a Joint External Evaluation. Bringing various pillars together through this multisectoral assessment has given us a shared picture of where we stand — and a shared commitment to act on what we’ve learnt. Recommendations from this JEE will inform our national health security action plan, guide our efforts and sustain progress towards better emergency preparedness and response.”

“This is Papua New Guinea’s first Joint External Evaluation and it has provided a comprehensive assessment of our capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats,” Secretary for Health, Mr Pascoe Kase, said. “The findings will now be used to develop a prioritised and fully costed National Action Plan for Health Security. This will provide Government with a clear basis for deciding where further investment is required and will support our development partners to align their assistance with PNG’s priorities.”

Leveraging the power of multisectoral collaboration

The JEE was led by health security experts Dr Gina Samaan, WHO Regional Emergency Director for the Western Pacific, and Dr Jorge Pinto Ferreira, Food Safety Officer from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), who worked alongside Hon. Dr. Billy Joseph and other government representatives and national experts. The evaluation also benefited from the contributions of regional experts from the Asian Development Bank, Tonga’s Ministry of Health, New Zealand’s Defence Force, the Australian Centre for Disease Control and Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Disease, all of whom brought diverse regional perspectives and rich technical expertise to the process.

Through the evaluation, decision makers from across Papua New Guinea’s government had the opportunity to measure cross-cutting IHR capacities and collectively arrive at recommendations for improvement.

"Getting the right leaders from every sector in one room, looking at the same evidence, is what makes a Joint External Evaluation more than a paper exercise," said WHO’s Dr Samaan. "It ensures that recommendations emerging from this week’s discussion are identified, shaped and owned by the country's leadership. The whole-of-government engagement seen throughout the evaluation is what will carry its findings into action. "

Papua New Guinea has made concerted efforts to strengthen health security through other efforts including multisectoral risk assessments, simulation exercises, One Health coordination mechanisms, joint civil–military preparedness activities and benchmarking annual progress. 

Commending the country’s commitment to national and regional health security, Dr Rajendra Prasad Hubraj Yadav, WHO Representative for Papua New Guinea, shared: "Papua New Guinea has brought the right sectors together, looked at the same evidence and built a shared understanding of the most important gaps. The value of this JEE will be measured not by the report itself, but by the gaps we close, the capacities we strengthen and the communities we protect. WHO will support the Government and partners to turn the recommendations into practical action, from national systems to provinces, districts and frontline services.”

Key recommendations

Papua New Guinea's Joint External Evaluation (JEE) identified a set of priority actions to strengthen the country's capacities, systems and coordination mechanisms for health security. These recommendations span legal and institutional reform, multisectoral collaboration, and investment in core service delivery, and are intended to guide the country's efforts to build more effective preparedness and readiness for public health emergencies:

• In line with the 2024 amendments to the IHR (2005), establish or designate a National IHR Authority and empower it to coordinate the multisectoral implementation of the IHR, while continuing to strengthen the function of the IHR National Focal Point.
• Leverage Ward Development Committees as the multisectoral platform to formalize and empower Village Health Assistants functions —  including for emergency preparedness and response. 
• Develop and implement a five-year National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS).
• Enact the revised Public Health Act and develop a funded implementation plan, aligned with the NAPHS, to support national and subnational operation and information sharing.
• Prioritize investment in essential health service delivery and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) for resilient primary care levels 1–4.   
• Implement a new National Immunization Strategy 2026-2030, considering that low immunization coverage is a critical public health risk.
• Formalize and implement procedures for timely information sharing across One Health sectors to support decision-making.
• Move from ad hoc to a scheduled multi-year national plan of sectoral, One Health and multisectoral simulation exercises.

Turning evidence into investments

Papua New Guinea's JEE was supported through WHO's partnership with the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), which strengthens national and regional health security systems across the Western Pacific Region.

Assessments such as this JEE generate the multisectoral evidence base that countries need to mobilize and direct financing towards priority investments. Across the Western Pacific Region, WHO-supported capacity and risk assessments catalysed approximately US$68.5 million in Pandemic Fund financing in 2025 alone, reaching 12 of 19 eligible countries in the Western Pacific—including Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea's experience reflects a wider regional pattern. Countries across the Region are increasingly moving away from fragmented, project-driven approaches towards nationally owned, evidence-based health security agendas, with a growing number of second-cycle JEEs allowing governments and partners to track progress and target further investment over time.

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About WHO

Dedicated to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance at a safe and healthy life. We are the UN agency for health that connects nations, partners, and people on the front lines in 150+ locations – leading the world’s response to health emergencies, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues, and expanding access to medicines and health care. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable.   

Strengthening national IHR capacities is a key priority under WHO’s regional framework for health security - the Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APHSAF) – and its broader global commitment towards enhancing health emergency workforce capacities through the Global Health Emergency Corps Initiative (GHEC).