Book excerpt: The purpose of this document is to support countries in contextualizing and implementing action area 1 of the roadmap and action plan to strengthen the public health workforce, which includes the emergency workforce. Action area 1 focuses on operationalizing the essential public health functions (EPHFs). Countries can use this document to identify their priorities relating to the EPHFs, subfunctions and public health services in the post-COVID-19 era and to understand and strengthen public health capacities and stewardship. A strategic review of the EPHFs can inform broader public health strengthening or reform. This document also includes an annex summarizing the findings of a survey on mapping EPHF-related health workforce strengthening activities within WHO and by key partners, which informed the work. This document summarizes the technical details and approaches presented in the publication Application of the essential public health functions: an integrated and comprehensive approach to public health, which was co-developed by WHO’s Health System Resilience and Essential Public Health Functions Team, Special Programme on Primary Health Care, and the International Association of National Public Health Institutes.