Global Health Security Agenda: Joint External Evaluation and Legislation-A 1-Year Review

In 2014, the IHR Review Committee recommended moving from exclusive self-evaluation to a combination of domestic and independent experts and began the process in conjunction with stakeholders to develop the Joint External Evaluation tool. The tool was launched in February 2016, and at the 2016 WHA, the IHR Review Committee recommended that all states parties should undertake assessments of their core capacities using the JEE tool and results of other evaluation processes such as the OIE PVS. A goal was set to conduct 50 country JEE assessments prior to WHA 2017. It is notable that legislation was added as a separate element of the JEE tool coupled with 2 indicators. Given the importance of law to the development discourse today, more needs to be done with the JEE with regards to legislation for the benefits of the law to be realized in global health security and overall in health outcomes. As we are at the 1-year anniversary of the tool, and WHO has begun a review of the JEE tool and requests for feedback are circulating, this article focuses on the JEE element of legislation and proposes some simple and substantive fixes. Considering the importance of law in the context of the GHSA, the results of the JEE tool are reviewed, and, drawing on the author's experience with the tool and other IHR and GHSA legal assessments, a case is made for a significant revision of the tool section on legislation and the manner in which the subject of legislation is integrated during the evaluation process.