The WHO Eleventh General Programme of Work, 2006–2015, which sets out the broad directions for the future work identifies strengthening global security as a key priority, supporting an integrated approach to a society-wide response to emerging and new threats to health, including disaster and conflict situations.

In the European Region, a discussion paper on health security was presented to the WHO Regional Committee for Europe at its fifty-sixth session in September 2006. The Regional Committee endorsed six strategic directions in the resolution on the future of the Regional Office towards 2020, one of which mandates WHO to lead the international response on health security in the European Region.

Key recommendations include strengthening stewardship, implementing health systems preparedness planning as a continuous process with a multihazard approach, establishing sustainable crisis management and health-risk reduction programmes in health ministries and establishing multisectoral coordination mechanisms. The programmes should be in charge of health system preparedness planning and managing health crises so that the health sector can be ready to take a leading and coordinating role and technically guide other sectors facing a health crisis.