Pandemics caused by influenza and other respiratory viruses have occurred in the past in human history and will occur again. With certainty, there will be a next influenza pandemic, although we do not know exactly when or what strain of the virus it will be. As seen in previous influenza pandemics, e.g., the 1918 Pandemic and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, an influenza pandemic can cause up to millions of deaths, put a strain on health systems, and impose significant economic costs. Therefore, preparedness for the next pandemic is critical to achieve optimal response outcomes and is also urgent, because the next influenza, or other virus pandemic, can occur at any time.

Pandemic preparedness presents opportunities to strengthen the core capacities needed to manage smoothly a pandemic, such as emergency coordination, collaborative surveillance, community protection, clinical care and access to medical products. Strengthening core capacities are fundamental to the implementation of International Health Regulations (2005), the global architecture for health emergency preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR), and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework. It is therefore essential for countries to regularly update their influenza pandemic preparedness plans as part of wider respiratory pandemic preparedness under Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET).

One essential component of preparedness is for countries to regularly update their influenza pandemic preparedness plans, and build surveillance and response capacity through seasonal influenza epidemics and zoonotic influenza outbreaks.