Interim implementation guide for the National Health Security Strategy of the United States of America

The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) was enacted in 2006 to improve the nation's ability to detect, prepare for, and respond to a variety of public health emergencies. Among other things, PAHPA directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a National Health Security Strategy (NHSS), to be initially presented to Congress in 2009 and subsequently revised every four years afterward. National Health Security Strategy Identifies Goals and Strategic Objectives for the Nation As noted in the National Health Security Strategy document, national health security is achieved when the Nation and its people are prepared for, protected from, ready to respond to, and able to recover from incidents with potentially catastrophic health consequences. The NHSS is designed to achieve two goals: 1. Build community resilience; 2. Strengthen and sustain health and emergency response systems. These goals are supported by ten strategic objectives, which address areas that require urgent and focused attention and improvement. The strategic objectives describe what must be accomplished to address current gaps in national health security over the next four years and to maintain improvements in health security over the longer term. The ten strategic objectives are: 1. Foster informed, empowered individuals and communities 2. Develop and maintain the workforce needed for national health security 3. Ensure situational awareness 4. Foster integrated, scalable health care delivery systems 5. Ensure timely and effective communications 6. Promote an effective countermeasures enterprise 7. Ensure prevention or mitigation of environmental and other emerging threats to health 8. Incorporate post-incident health recovery into planning and response 9. Work with cross-border and global partners to enhance national, continental, and global health security 10. Ensure that all systems that support national health security are based upon the best available science, evaluation, and quality improvement methods.