Background
10. As stated in the Emergency Response Framework (ERF), the successful implementation of the ERF requires, among other needs, the institutional readiness of WHO in line with standardized checklists at Country, Regional and Headquarters offices.
20. Effective October 2023, the WHO Country Office (WCO) Readiness Checklist is online, replacing the paper-based version of the tool, and accessible through the WHO Partners Platform (https://partnersplatform.who.int/).
30. The online WCO Readiness Checklist provides essential readiness steps for all Country Offices to be prepared to support emergency responses:
- Through an all-hazards approach, it enables Country Offices to prioritize critical actions to respond more quickly and efficiently to health emergencies.
- It supports Country Offices to assess, monitor and adjust their capability to deliver across the incident management system (IMS) core functions, identifying areas of strength and areas for increased support.
40. The online Checklist is not a tool for grading emergencies. Instead, it captures the current state of operational capability of WHO Country Offices to respond to emergencies and to support and enable Country Offices to revise their capabilities vis a vis the emergency grading process and outcomes.
50. Because the online Checklist describes the current core capabilities of the Country Offices before an emergency, Country Offices have the opportunity to work closely with the Regional Office to address the gaps in their capability and scale-up their operational readiness to support countries to respond to emergencies.
Access and users' roles
60. The online WCO Readiness Checklist is organized around three main core capabilities categories:
- administration and operations management
- health readiness
- preventing and responding to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PRSEAH).
70. WHO Representatives (WR)/Heads of Office nominate a focal point for each of the three core capabilities categories. All WCO Readiness Checklist focal points must be staff and can access the online tool only with a valid WIMS account.
| User type | Role within the online WCO Readiness Checklist |
| WR/Head of Office | - Appoint WCO staff as focal points
- Approve and submit the WCO Readiness Checklist on an annual basis and an ad-hoc basis for predicted and imminent threats
- Approve the plan of action in response to the readiness gaps
- Use operational readiness results for WCO organizational resilience, planning and advocacy (including engagement with WCO partners)
- Exchange your WCO experience with others at the Health Readiness Network and other WHO initiatives and networks
- Promote change management vis-a-vis operational readiness at the Country Office level.
|
| WCO Readiness Checklist Focal Point nominated by WR/Head of Office | - Coordinate with internal experts and stakeholders in the WCO to complete the Readiness Checklist with accurate, robust and transparent responses
- Complete the checklist before the submission deadline and follow up with RO and HQ focal points on the update deadlines
- Coordinate the implementation and joint-monitoring of the readiness gaps action plan in coordination with RO and HQ focal points
- Amplify awareness around the tool and its advantages among other WCO colleagues.
|
| Regional Office (RO) Readiness Focal Point | In coordination with WCOs' and HQ's operational readiness focal points: - Identify technical and financial requirements and prioritize actions for hazard-specific readiness and recovery, including actions covering multi-country needs
- Update and monitor the status of operational readiness gaps vis a vis the plan of response
- Mainstream findings from the pilot phase within regional initiatives promoting operational readiness
- Build on the pilot lessons learned to develop the RO Readiness Checklist in coordination with HQ.
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| HQ Readiness Focal Point | - Provide online orientation drop-in clinics and access support.
- Finalize the online tool (content and structure) in preparation for the at-scale phase
- Support the continuous update of technical guidance/resources
- Expand and consolidate the network of operational readiness focal points, promoting the exchange of best practices and lessons learned across WCOs
- Where applicable, upstream findings and lessons learned from the pilot phase for business continuity improvement
- Integrate other critical tools.
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Phases of roll-out
80. WHO Country Offices have access to the online WCO Readiness Checklist as per below:
- Phase One: from October 2023 to February 2024 (pilot). Within Phase One, 61 Country Offices (WHO presence type D & E) pilot test the online tool and contribute to it in terms of co-creation.
- Phase Two: from April 2024 onwards, the online tool goes to scale and is accessible to other WHO Country Offices (WHO presence type B & C).
Note: This section of the eManual may be subject to further updates in March 2024 to reflect lessons learned from Phase One.
