Objectives of the UMAP Tool
The WHO Tool for Reviewing and Mapping Health Emergency Preparedness in Cities and Urban Settings has been developed to support the implementation of the global Framework for Strengthening Health Emergency Preparedness in Cities and Urban Settings. It is based on the operational guidance for national and local authorities that accompanies the Framework.
It aims to support countries to achieve a greater level of health emergency preparedness, by focusing on the unique challenges and vulnerabilities that exist at the city level, and ultimately lead to better national application of the International Health Regulations (2005).
It is intended to support countries and cities in three key areas:
Reviewing the level of urban health emergency preparedness and mapping relevant infrastructure at the city level.
Identifying gaps in policy, capacities and capabilities, and infrastructure for health security and health emergency preparedness at the city level.
Convening relevant authorities at both national and local levels to discuss and progress health security and health emergency preparedness at the city level.
The Expected Outcomes of applying the WHO Tool for Reviewing and Mapping Health Emergency Preparedness in Cities and Urban Settings within a country and/or city are:
The tool and the outcomes are intended to complement existing technical activities undertaken by WHO at both national and city level to strengthen health security and health emergency preparedness.
These include the Strategic Risk Assessments (STAR), IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Activities such as States Parties Annual Reporting (SPAR), Simulation exercises and reviews, voluntary reviews such as the Joint External Evaluation (JEE), National Action Planning for Health Security (NAPHS) and other capacity building, assessment and planning activities.
The results and outcomes from the Tool will feed in to complement these existing processes, their outcomes and follow up activities.
- 01 Identified technical priorities for urban preparedness, and gaps in associated policy, capacity, and capabilities, and infrastructure
- 02 Identification of areas to support IHR application and contribute to national planning processes for health security and health emergency preparedness
- 03 Facilitation of partnership and stakeholder dialogue for strengthening urban preparedness
Reviewing Urban Health Emergency Preparedness through the WHO Urban Preparedness Tool
Reviewing a city’s urban health emergency preparedness involves a structured process focused on its ability to prepare for, prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies. This includes two key components which are included in this online tool:
01
Urban Preparedness Review
Using WHO's Framework for strengthening Health Emergency Preparedness in Cities and Urban Settings and the core capacities of the International Health Regulations, questions are proposed for cities conduct a self-review of critical areas of urban preparedness, based on WHO’s global guides and tools. The process identifies strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement in health security systems at the urban level, including related infrastructure.
The table outlines the scoring criteria that should be used throughout the application of the self-review stage of the tool. Generally, the levels refer to whether or not the actions and approaches in the statements occur, or the capacities needed in the context of each statement in the context of each statement are in place or not. A comment box is provided for each question, allowing for elaboration on the ranking. The more complementary information provided in this comment box, the better informed the discussions in the subsequent Technical Workshop will be, and the more appropriate the follow up actions identified, as well as the likelihood of their implementation.
Scoring criteria for use in the review and mapping tool
| LEVEL | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Non-existent: This does not occur / the attributes of related capacities are not in place. |
| Level 2 | Limited: This occurs rarely / the attributes of related capacities are in the development stage (implementation may be planned, but is not yet in place). |
| Level 3 | Developed: This occurs occasionally / the attributes of related capacities are partially in place, however sustainability has not been ensured. |
| Level 4 | Demonstrated: This occurs frequently / the attributes of related capacities are in place. |
| Level 5 | Sustainable: This occurs sustainably / the attributes of related capacities are functional and sustainable. |
02
Urban Preparedness Infrastructure Mapping
Achieving improved urban health emergency preparedness requires a broad range of infrastructure, ranging from health facilities, laboratories, public shelters, supply chains, digital infrastructure, workforce capacity, infrastructure for other essential and supporting services and many others. This element of the online tool provides the ability to map and visualize physical infrastructure distribution, criteria related to operational and management aspects including public-private distribution, universal health coverage and accessibility, and the availability of critical services to address vulnerabilities.
Together, these two steps create a detailed profile of a city’s health emergency preparedness, supporting policymakers to build resilient, sustainable urban health emergency preparedness systems.
Frequently Ask Questions
Document Library
The following documents are proposed to be used and referred to throughout the process. Given each country and city's context, these will differ, and the list is not exhaustive but intended to act as a starting point. They should be compiled and reviewed in preparation for the Self-Review stage of the tool.
