The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in collaboration with the East Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC), the World Bank, and the Ministry of Health of Zambia, and in partnership with countries participating in the Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience Program (HEPRR), is convening the 3rd Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) Meeting of the World Bank-financed HEPRR–MPA Project.

The Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience (HEPPR) Program is a regional program which aims to strengthen health system resilience and multisectoral preparedness and response to health emergencies in Eastern and Southern Africa. The program is implemented in phases (Multiphase Programmatic Approach – MPA) and the following countries have been approved to participate in the HEPRR program; Ethiopia, Botswana, Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, Kenya, Sao Tome and Principe, Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique. Other countries are in the pipeline including Angola and Tanzania.

The Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) serves as a strategic governance and oversight body for the HEPRR–MPA regional program. It plays a critical role in:

• Providing strategic direction to the program.
• Facilitating regional collaboration by addressing policy and political barriers.
• Ensuring alignment between national priorities and regional objectives.
• Strengthening stakeholder engagement and coordination across participating countries and institutions.

Representatives of the participating countries chair the RAC, while IGAD and ECSA-HC jointly serve as the secretariat, facilitating the planning, coordination, and documentation of RAC activities.

Objectives of the RAC:

1. Review Progress: To assess the progress made since the second RAC meeting in Addis Ababa in November 2024 in implementing HEPRR strategies and initiatives in the project countries including bottlenecks and opportunities.
2. Strengthen Regional Collaboration: To enhance regional coordination and collaboration among participating countries and with other stakeholders.
3. Knowledge sharing: To share implementation lessons and experience for the benefit of all countries.
4. Learning agenda: To present and discuss the learning agenda for the HEPRR program for countries’ endorsement.

Expected Outcomes:

1. Policy recommendations to enhance implementation of the HEPRR MPA program.
2. Strengthened regional coordination and collaboration among participating countries and stakeholders.
3. Documentation of lessons learned shared during the RAC.
4. Endorsement of the learning agenda for the HEPRR program.

 Venue and Dates

• Location:Radisson Blu Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia
• Main RAC Meeting Dates:18th 20th November 2025

Structure of the Meeting

Pre-RAC Meeting (17 November)

A one-day technical session for Project Implementation Units (PIUs) from all participating countries. This session will focus on reviewing country-level progress, preparing inputs for the RAC, and harmonizing technical perspectives. To ensure consistency, depth, and comparability in country-level contributions, standardized presentation templates will be shared with all participating countries in advance of the meeting. These templates are designed to guide national teams in structuring their inputs around the following key areas: Key achievements, lessons learned, challenges encountered, and proposed solutions or support needs

Main RAC Meeting (18–19 November):
A high-level strategic meeting involving RAC members, country representatives, regional entities, and development partners. The agenda will include:

• Presentation of country and regional progress reports
• Review of implementation challenges and opportunities
• Strategic discussions on regional collaboration and policy alignment

Field Visit (20 November):
Delegates will participate in a field visitcoordinated by the Ministry of Health of Zambia, showcasing practical implementation of health emergency preparedness and response initiatives.

Participants

 Proposed participants from each MPA country

1. Permanent Secretary, MOH
2. Project Coordinators/Managers
3. Knowledge Management and Monitoring & Evaluation experts
4. Directors General of National Public Health Institutes OR Directors of Public Health in MOH
5. Directors General or Chief Executives of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs)
6. Representatives from Communities of Practice
7. WB participants : Managers, Task team leaders (TTLs), central team members
8. Partners: WHO HQ, AFRO-Hub; WOAH; RECs; Africa CDC, AUC, AUDA/NEPAD; AMA, RTSL, etc (20 expected)
9. IGAD and ECSA

Meeting Modality

The meeting will include:

• Presentations
• Plenary sessions
• Panel discussions
• Excursions

These sessions will be facilitated by expert organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, IGAD, ECSA-HC, and others. Experts from MPA participating countries as well as invited guests will actively contribute to the discussions.

Guiding questions will be provided to steer the panel discussions and promote focused, solution-oriented dialogue.