Influenza, a major global public health challenge
Influenza remains one of the world’s greatest public health challenges. The threat of pandemic influenza is ever-present. The on-going risk of a new influenza virus transmitting from animals to humans and potentially causing a pandemic is real. Hence, the vigilance and preparedness are essential as the cost of a major influenza outbreak, let alone a pandemic, which will far outweigh the price of prevention.
WHO’s initiatives for enhancing Pandemic Influenza Preparedness
In this context, the Fifty-eighth World Health Assembly (WHA) urged Member States to focus on several measures in order to strengthen pandemic-influenza preparedness (PIP) for response while focusing on limiting health impacts and socio- economic disruptions due to seasonal influenza outbreaks and influenza pandemics.
The Fifty-eighth WHA urged WHO to (1) continue strengthening national surveillance and laboratory capacity for detecting human and zoonotic influenzas; including participation in the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response (GISRS) Network; (2) plan and develop capacity to respond to an influenza pandemic among multiple recommendations. These recommendations were further strengthened by the PIP Framework. Its key goals are:
- To improve and strengthen sharing of influenza viruses with human pandemic potential
- To increase access of developing countries to vaccines and other pandemic related supplies
Meanwhile, to be responsive to evolving needs of the PIP, there was a need for a comprehensive and far-reaching global strategy. The Global Influenza Strategy for 2019–2030 provided this much-needed framework. It facilitated WHO, countries and partners to approach influenza holistically through tailored national programmes – from surveillance to disease prevention and control – with the goal of strengthening seasonal influenza prevention, control and preparedness for future pandemics. It articulated the need for strengthening country capacities that are integrated within national health security planning and Universal Health Coverage efforts.
WHO’s South-East Asia Region supporting member countries for over a decade
As a result, WHO’S SEA Regional Office’s support to Member Countries was built around aforementioned WHO’s initiatives. Additionally, the bi-regional Asia-Pacific strategy for emerging diseases (APSED) and the annual bi-regional meetings on national influenza centres (NIC) and influenza surveillance acted as a catalyst for guidance and support in developing broad, long-term strategic plans for preparedness and response to influenza threat in the region.
The Regional Office, as per its mandate to provide regional leadership and technical support for consolidating expected outcomes of the PIP framework, continued strengthening laboratory and epidemiologic surveillance capacity in countries for early detection and reporting of seasonal and non-seasonal influenza of pandemic potential and enhancing overall PIP capacity for response to outbreaks and pandemics.
Support from CDC, both timely and critical
In this regard, the Regional Office built partnerships with partners such as the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) and WHO collaborating centres in the GISRS network. PIP partnership contribution funds and funds through the Cooperative Agreement between the Regional Office and US CDC were the major financial contributors to SEARO to achieve the set regional goals and objectives in relation to PIP and response. The Cooperative agreements are inalienable components of the continued work and sustainable funding for pandemic preparedness in the region. The recently secured 5-year ( 2022–2026) cooperative agreement (Co Ag) is the third such CoAg with two previous CoAgs which have already contributed to regional efforts for PIP.
Benefits of this technical and financial collaboration with US CDC to support regional efforts of PIP for response have given dividends, the effectiveness of which were proven beyond reasonable doubt during the current pandemic. Therefore, for the sustainability of continued regional efforts, the renewal of the CDC Cooperative agreement is of paramount importance. Taking into account the regional needs and priorities, activities of the new cooperative agreement between WHO SEARO and US CDC focus on:
- Enhancing laboratory assisted surveillance with a view to generating evidence for early warning; alerts and response; policy decision making and vaccine introductions
- Influenza pandemic planning and overall enhancing pandemic preparedness capacities in SEAR MS
Key objectives and strategies of the new cooperative agreement
Objective 1: Implement a coordinated plan to assist national governments and regional authorities to improve surveillance for influenza.
Strategy 1: Policy and strategic guidance
Strategy 2: Training and other capacity building exercises
Strategy 3: Laboratory support for ILI/SARI surveillance
Objective 2: Assist in implementation of simple methods to determine burden of influenza disease(BOD) in countries and regionally using surveillance data and other routinely collected information.
Strategy 1: Improvement of surveillance data quality and other routinely collected information.
Strategy 2: Use of surveillance and other routinely collected information for programmatic purposes.
Strategy 3: Feasibility assessment for and conducting Burden of disease (BoD) studies.
Objective 3: Detect and respond to outbreaks of novel influenza viruses with pandemic potential.
Strategy 1: Ensuring preparedness for responding to outbreak of novel influenza viruses with pandemic potential.
Strategy 2: Detection of novel influenza viruses with pandemic potential both through ILI/SARI surveillance systems and surveillance systems at the human animal interface.
Strategy 3: Mechanisms of rapid response to seasonal, non-seasonal influenza outbreaks and pandemics.