From 3–5 March 2026, Bhutan held a landmark consultation workshop in Paro to finalize its National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS). The three-day meeting brought together senior officials from ministries, government departments, development partners, and civil society to strengthen the country’s preparedness, response, resilience, and risk management in line with the International Health Regulations (IHR). This initiative represents a major step toward enhancing Bhutan’s health security capacities across multiple sectors.
The workshop finalized both the medium-term strategic and short-term operational plans. It was jointly organized by the Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health (MoH), and the WHO Country Office for Bhutan, with support from the Pandemic Fund. The consultation reinforced a unified, multi-sectoral, and One Health approach, aiming to improve Bhutan’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to public health emergencies caused by priority infectious and other hazards. Technical groups drafted a consolidated NAPHS with measurable five-year strategic objectives and prioritized operational activities for implementation over two years.
Discussions during the consultation were informed by the Joint External Evaluation of IHR (JEE-IHR) completed in 2025, which identified Bhutan’s strengths in emergency coordination, surveillance, laboratories, and workforce readiness, as well as gaps in human resources, data interoperability, and radiation emergency preparedness. These insights, combined with other health security and system reviews, guided the actionable objectives and prioritized activities across 19 technical areas.
WHO Representative Dr. Bhupinder Kaur highlighted the alignment of national priorities with global health security frameworks and acknowledged the support of the Pandemic Fund in advancing key JEE-IHR recommendations. Key stakeholders, including the MoH, Bhutan Food and Drug Authority, Department of Environment and Climate Change, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital, Royal Civil Services Commission, Armed Forces, Royal Bhutan Police, Red Cross, and Points of Entry officials, committed to finalizing and implementing the NAPHS.
Mr. Karma Jamtsho, Director of the Department of Public Health, emphasized workforce training and capacity building as essential for a resilient health system. Priority actions include leveraging the Pandemic Fund, mobilizing domestic resources, and broadening donor engagement to ensure sustainable financing while maintaining strong national ownership.
On the final day, technical working groups presented the finalized strategic objectives and operational activities. Dr. Reuben Samuel of WHO South-East Asia Regional Office emphasized that NAPHS strengthens Bhutan’s national health security, closes gaps, and builds public trust through interministerial coordination and multi-sector engagement.
More than 50 participants contributed to the planning process, including representatives from health, animal, environmental, security, and finance sectors, along with academia, disaster management, civil society, and partner agencies. The consultation aligned Bhutan’s national health security plan with regional strategic roadmaps and global best practices.
Key outcomes included the development of a five-year strategic action plan, a 24-month operational plan, integration of human, animal, and environmental health sectors into a unified health security framework, and strengthened readiness for outbreaks, pandemics, natural disasters, and other emergencies. In the coming weeks, technical groups will validate priority actions, align resource needs, and establish coordination mechanisms for implementation and monitoring. The NAPHS will then enter the implementation phase, including costing, resource mobilization, and routine testing of national emergency risk management systems through simulation exercises and After-Action Reviews.
The consultation reaffirmed Bhutan’s commitment to a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, positioning the NAPHS as a roadmap for building a safer, more resilient health system that enhances emergency preparedness, intersectoral collaboration, and public health protection.
