Zimbabwe has concluded its second Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of national health security, marking a key milestone in its efforts to strengthen public health emergency preparedness.
The assessment, conducted from 29 June to 4 July, sets the stage for a World Health Organisation (WHO)-led validation mission scheduled for September.
Coordinated by the Ministry of Health and Child Care with support from WHO and partners, the JEE evaluated Zimbabwe’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats under International Health Regulations (2005).
The JEE is a voluntary, collaborative process used globally to assess a country’s readiness to manage infectious disease outbreaks and other health emergencies. It is conducted every five years, with Zimbabwe’s first evaluation completed in 2018.
“The JEE gives us a structured opportunity to check how ready we are to detect and respond to public health threats and we thank all the partners who have made this possible,” Ministry of Health acting chief director for public health Wenceslaus Nyamayaro said in a statement on Friday.
Over 100 participants from health, environment, veterinary services, defence, civil society and development agencies assessed 19 technical areas, including biosafety, surveillance, legislation and border readiness.
Key gaps identified included outdated legal frameworks and limited legal support at subnational levels; and gender equity shortfalls, with low representation of women in emergency decision-making and inadequate funding for GBV prevention.
Other shortcomings identified were the existence of fragmented surveillance systems for food-borne illnesses and healthcare-associated infections, limited biosafety infrastructure and laboratory capacity, and insufficient readiness to detect and respond to threats at points of entry.
Zimbabwe also reviewed its progress on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
While a One Health AMR Action Plan and 14 surveillance sites are in place, challenges persist in data integration and containment of multidrug-resistant organisms.
The next stage of the JEE process will be an upcoming external validation mission, set for 6–13 September, that will involve international experts reviewing documentation and visiting key health facilities.
Findings will inform Zimbabwe’s updated National Action Plan for Health Security.
JN/APA