National Action Plan for Health Security of Sri Lanka 2019-2023.

National Action Plan for Health Security of Sri Lanka for the period from the year 2019 until the year 2023 (or NAPHS 2019-2023) is a multi-stakeholder, medium term dynamic action plan with a results-based approach. The implementation of NAPHS is whole of government responsibility and commitment. The implementation and monitoring of the overall plan and sectoral plans are critical to achieve desired results and will be done by relevant Departments/Ministries. The respective ministries, departments and units will include the activities in the NAPHS, in their annual work plan. The activities in the NAPHS will be implemented in phase wise manner. The NAPHS will be funded mainly through government funds, whereas selected activities will be funded by donors.
Vision is: A safer nation through strengthened capacities for public health security. The Mission is: To contribute towards a safer nation by strengthening core capacities and capabilities to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats efficiently and effectively adopting a multi-stakeholder approach. Objectives are as follows: 1. To build and sustain multi-stakeholder engagement to attain IHR core capacities through consultation and consensus; 2. To ensure comprehensive risk assessment to support decision-making before incidents and during response and recovery operations; 3. To strengthen and maintain national core capacities and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals; 4. To align activities among stakeholders adopting a ‘one health approach’ to engage the human, animal and agriculture sectors; 5. To assimilate results based monitoring and evaluation for national health security. Guiding principles and core values of National Action Plan for Health Security are: Country ownership and leadership-The National Focal Points for IHR and the National Steering Committee will coordinate and support the implementation of activities in line with the national guidelines; Evidence based practice-Policies, programmes and activities will be based on evidence generated scientifically at national and international levels; Strengthening partnerships and collaborations-All relevant stakeholders of the government and non-government sectors will be partners of the national planning process; Gender equity and human rights-Gender and human rights principles that ensure incorporation of gender equity and human rights perspectives into policies and programmes.
This text further addresses the antimicrobial resistance: Support work being coordinated by WHO, FAO and OIE to develop an integrated global package of activities to combat antimicrobial resistance, spanning human, animal, food and environmental aspects. One health approach is one of the ways to achieve this objective and in addition to that need of national comprehensive plan to combat antimicrobial resistance and strengthening of surveillance and laboratory capacity at the national and international level; Zoonotic diseases: Adopted measured behaviors, policies and/or practices to prevent and minimize the transmission of zoonotic diseases into human populations. Development of national operational frame work based on international standards, guidelines and successful existing models that specify the actions necessary to promote one health approaches to policies, practices and behaviors that could minimize the risk of zoonotic disease emergence and spread; Biosafety and Biosecurity: National biosafety and bio security system in place to ensure the safety from dangerous pathogens who are identified, held, secured and monitored in a minimal number of facilities according to best practices such as biological risk management training and educational outreach are conducted to promote a shared culture responsibility, reduce dual use risks, mitigate biological proliferation and deliberate use threats.