1. Ottawa, Canada, 20-21 September 2006.
Workshop:
The State of National Governance Relative to the International Health Regulations (2005)
Ottawa, Canada, September 2006.

2. Welcome and Thank You Conference Organizers Kumanan Wilson
Professor Harvey Lazar
Christopher McDougall
Professor David Fidler
Dr. Ron St. John

3. Objectives
Understand the governance challenges to implementing the IHR – focusing on federal nations and decentralized states
Emphasis on the importance of the IHR and the challenges of governance in a a globalized world

4. Goals
To have a frank and open discussion on the governance challenges related to IHR implementation
To learn from each other
To provide key messages and learning materials for others

5. Process 2 day workshop 9 country presentations – one hour each
20 to 30 minute talks followed by a discussion
Speakers are not representing their country unless they state otherwise

6. The objective is not to identify past problems but to look forward - to describe strategies to overcome potential governance obstacles to IHR implementation

7. Outputs
Following the workshop, we will provide edited transcripts to all participants for their comments
We hope to develop a list of key messages and suggested strategies based on the presentations
Ideally, we would develop learning materials to assist countries and the WHO

8. Questions?