Qatar has become the first Arab country and the seventh worldwide to pass the Joint External Evaluation of national capabilities regarding International Health Regulations.
The evaluation was conducted for two weeks with the participation of 16 experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI) besides specialists from Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health and representatives from the other ministries concerned.  
The evaluation aims at enhancing the national capabilities regarding the adequate detection, examination and control of public health emergencies, whether these are triggered by biological, chemical, or radioactive sources.
Dr Saleh bin Ali al-Marri, assistant secretary general for Medical Affairs at the health ministry, said at the concluding meeting of the assessment that Qatar was committed to implement the recommendations of the experts of the joint committees to strengthen its health security locally, regionally and globally.
Dr Rajesh Sreedharan, head of the WHO delegation of experts, stressed that the evaluation was necessary to put priorities for the capabilities needed to be maintained and sustained in all countries.
He said that the level found in Qatar could be used as a model to be followed by all.
“I hope that experts from Qatar would participate in conducting the same evaluation in other countries,” he said.
The evaluation team included representatives from the WHO, GHSI, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Naval Medical Research Unit 3, in addition to representatives from the US, the UK, Lebanon, France, Finland and Philippines.
The evaluation dealt with the legal and legislative issues regarding the response of the country to public health emergencies, the authorities and departments concerned with disaster management, mechanism of co-operation and co-ordination for the national response, capabilities of detecting and reporting transmittable diseases, vaccination, early detection of chemical and radioactive risks, diagnosis and test laboratories capabilities, biological safety and combating infection and related antibiotics.
Other factors include human resources, getting ready for disasters, safety of food, media, control of the disease common for man and animals, and the effective communication in time of disasters, besides the application of such factors on the country’s airports, seaports and international crossings.
Representatives from various departments, including ministries  of interior, municipality and environment, defence, the HMC, the Primary Health Care Corporation, QP and QRCS have taken part in the evaluation.