ESWATINI LAUNCHES NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR HEALTH SECURITY

Eswatini has officially unveiled its National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) for the period 2026-2030, marking a shift from planning to action in bolstering the nation's health system. The high-level launch brought together key stakeholders, including government ministers, parliamentarians, representatives from the Africa CDC and the National Disaster Risk Management Authority, development partners, civil society, and academia.

With a budget of E558 million, the NAPHS aims to fully integrate a multi-sectoral defense system under a One Health framework. This approach emphasizes collaboration across human, animal, and environmental health sectors, disaster management, security, academia, communities, and partners. The total budget is sufficient to cover every citizen in Eswatini.

The WHO Officer in Charge, Dr. Mekdim Ayana, emphasized that the NAPHS is more than a strategic document; it represents a national commitment to enhancing health systems resilience and safeguarding future generations against various health threats. These threats include infectious diseases, natural disasters, climate-related events, and other public health emergencies.

The plan integrates different sectors under a One Health approach, promoting collaboration across government and partners. It identifies health security priorities, defines key actions, mobilizes partners, and guides resource allocation to build and sustain strong health security systems. Dr. Ayana commended Eswatini for its sustained implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) since 2010 through annual reporting and for voluntarily undergoing the Joint External Evaluation (JEE).

The JEE, conducted in September 2024, documented Eswatini's achievements in IHR core capacities but identified that no technical area had yet attained sustainable capacity. The voluntary JEE, however, highlighted that the recognition of health security transcending the health sector and requiring multisectoral One Health collaboration underscores the necessity of strengthened indicator-based and event-based surveillance, effective border health measures, and cross-border collaboration within the Southern African Development Community.