Essential public health functions renewed by WHO should be a roadmap for building public health capacity and a resilient health system in Poland

Introduction and Objective. The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health failure at multiple levels worldwide and in Poland. The aim of the article is to discuss pre-pandemic and current ventures aimed at public health capacity building in Poland, in focus on emergency preparedness and response, and the list of essential public health functions (EPHFs) renewed by WHO. Review methods. The assessment was based on legal regulations and publications on the implementation of public health functions published on the websites of the Statistics Poland, ISAP, Polish Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Public Health-National Institute of Hygiene, Supreme Audit Office, Council of Ministers, Government Legislation Centre, Sejm of the Republic of Poland and the OECD, PAHO, WHO. Brief description of the state of knowledge. Diagnosis of the public health functioning in Poland based on the concept of essential public health operations (EPHOs) according to the WHO Regional Office for Europe showed shortcomings. The EPHOs functions were not mapped in the Public Health Act. Neither the Act nor the National Health Programmes covered the issues of preparedness and response. Current documents and publications on public health activities do not raise anti-epidemic measures. WHO’s renewed essential public health functions (EPHFs) include managing public health emergency and functions new to EPHOs. Summary. It is necessary to consider the functions, structure and organization of public health in Poland. It should involve many stakeholders. Renewed EPHFs should be considered in public health capacity building.