National interagency collaboration for public health

A plethora of public health activities and agendas established over the past decades have reinvigorated the importance of national interagency collaboration to prevent or respond to public health threats. However, there remain several challenges in implementing and sustaining these collaborations. Operationalizing collaboration for global health security will require sustained collaboration among well-resourced agencies across multiple sectors within counties. This approach is through coordination, communication, collaboration, and capacity building. This must be backed by enabling policies, guidelines, and operating procedures to strengthen leadership and governance and coordinate activities within and across sectors. This chapter presents gaps in national interagency collaboration and provides practical ideas from the country, local, and international partners that can close those gaps. The chapter also highlights factors that contribute to effective collaboration. The authors describe different forms of collaboration, providing examples of shared agendas at the national level and their challenges. The chapter's case study assesses the National One Health Platform in Uganda as a model system, describing the successes, gaps, priorities, and potential activities to improve interagency collaboration. The authors provide recommendations for increasing countries' capacity for effective interagency coordination and collaboration in a standardized manner.