A structure and intensify functional cooperation with respect to IHR.
This meeting is a follow-up to a meeting of experts that was held in early November 2012 on the island of Aruba. The meeting brought together representatives from Aruba, Curacao, and the Netherlands, the public entities of Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba (BES islands) and Sint Maarten.
The follow-up meeting will take place on March 20 and 21 at Divi Little Bay.
In 2007, IHR entered into force to help the international community prevent and respond to acute public health risks that have the potential to cross borders and threaten people worldwide. The Regulations detail core capacities that countries’ should establish and strengthen.
A Sint Maarten Team will be tasked with assessing and developing a local IHR Implementation Plan to be implemented over the next two years and by 2014.
The IHR requires World Health Organization Member States (the Netherlands represents the Kingdom partners and BES islands) to strengthen core surveillance and response capacities at the primary, intermediate and national level, as well as at designated international ports, airports and ground crossings. The most relevant for the country will be the two ports of entry (airport, harbor).
States will also have to introduce a series of health documents, including ship sanitation certificates and an international certificate of vaccination or prophylaxis for travelers.
The IHR was a response to the exponential increase in international travel and trade, and emergence and re-emergence of international disease threats and other health risks.
194 countries across the globe have agreed to implement IHR-2005. This binding instrument of international law entered into force on 15, June 2007.