U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) EXPERIENCE IN THE JOINT EXTERNAL EVALUATION PROCESS – RADIATION EMERGENCIES TECHNICAL AREA
In 2015–2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services led 23 U.S. Government (USG) agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and more than 120 subject matter experts in conducting an in-depth review of the U.S. core public health capacities and evaluation of the country's compliance with the International Health Regulations using the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) methodology. This two-part process began with a detailed "self-assessment" followed by a comprehensive independent, external evaluation conducted by 15 foreign assessors. In the Radiation Emergencies Technical Area, on a scale from 1-lowest to 5-highest, the assessors concurred with the USG self-assessed score of 3 in both of the relevant indicators. The report identified 5 priority actions recommended to improve the USG capacity to handle large-scale radiation emergencies. CDC is working to implement a post-JEE roadmap to address these priority actions in partnership with national and international partners.