10. This section provides an overview of the procedures related to developing, revising and disseminating emergency policies, guidelines and procedures. The detailed SOP can be found here.
20. To allow for rapid response during emergencies, any unit/ team/ working group involved in WHO emergency response efforts or working in WHO emergency departments may propose/ initiate any of the following:
- new policies, guidelines or procedures
- revise existing policies, guidelines or procedures
- exceptions to existing policies that would apply only to the emergency programmes
- remove existing policies or procedures
30. Policies, whether proposed anew or revised, must be reviewed by Stakeholders, approved by Level 1 and Level 2 Approvers, and cleared through DGO by the DG. The DGO will determine if the World Health Assembly/ Governing Body's approval would be required; otherwise, they are considered final once cleared by the DG.
40. Guidelines and procedures must be submitted for a "no-objections" clearance to Stakeholders and approved by Level 1 and Level 2 Approvers, at which point they are considered final. The timeline for this process is no more than 2 – 3 weeks.
50. If new policies, procedures or guidelines need to be issued or revised/updated during a response event, a rapid approval process will be implemented. The Incident Manager will propose (or send a request for a solution to a problem) to the Regional DAF, who will consult with the business owner (HQ GMG Director) and give a response within 48 hours, including the validity period of the approval, if granted.
60. The emergency policies, guidelines and procedures will be disseminated through the WHO eManual with the possibility for external access. External access will be defined for each document (TBD).
70. For dissemination through the eManual, the following approach will be followed:
- Policies: WHO policies related to work in emergencies will be included in the WHO eManual under section XVII, which is currently entitled "Health Emergencies".
- Guidelines will be referenced in the eManual under "related content" and included in the SOPs repository as examples of "best practice".
- Procedures will be referenced in the eManual under "related content" and housed in a central Sharepoint repository.
80. For proposed changes or any queries related to emergency-related Policies, Procedures and Guidelines, please contact emanualemergency@who.int
