Building health security beyond Ebola: report of a high-level meeting, Cape Town, 13-15 July 2015

The high-level meeting on Building Health Security Beyond Ebola was convened by WHO and the Government of South Africa in Cape Town on 13−15 July 2015. It brought together over 200 participants representing Ebola-affected countries, other African countries, representatives from other Regions, global experts and institutions, and donor agencies. One of the main goals of the meeting was to encourage cooperative work between countries— and with WHO and other partners—in building preparedness for future health emergencies and thereby strengthening global health security. The meeting focused on sustained preparedness, with the overall aim of strengthening critical elements of health systems and IHR capacities. The meeting was successful in bringing together national, regional, and international stakeholders to establish a common framework for action to support, coordinate and intensify the strategic development and maintenance of health security preparedness. In this way, stakeholders would build on achievements and lessons of recent Ebola preparedness efforts.