The World Health Organization launched a new initiative to improve pandemic preparedness

To help countries better prepare for future pandemics, the World Health Organization today launched a new initiative that provides guidance on coordinated planning to respond to any respiratory illness such as influenza or the coronavirus.

The new one Preparedness and resilience to emerging threatsor PRET, includes the latest tools and approaches for collective learning and collective action that have been developed during the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent public health emergencies.

Because multiple capacities and capabilities are common among pathogen groups, the World Health Organization, through its initiative, uses a referral mechanism to help countries plan for outbreaks. PRET answers the call for technical guidance and support to encourage and strengthen integrated preparedness and response, as defined in World Health Assembly resolutions.

As the Covid-19 pandemic and other health emergencies have shown, countries need to be more proactively prepared to prevent infectious diseases, with tailored preparedness plans in hand and better coordination and collaboration with other sectors such as agriculture.

Dr. Theodore Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said, “Preparation, prevention and response activities should not be the sole province of the health sector.” “Just as health emergencies affect multiple sectors, our preparedness and response efforts must span sectors, sectors and pathogens. It is imperative that community engagement and equity are at the center of our efforts, particularly for marginalized and at-risk populations.

PRET has evolved from the WHO’s approach to epidemic prevention by applying a transmission lens rather than focusing on specific diseases. WHO will continue to develop and disseminate guidance on specific diseases as needed.

The launch of the initiative, including the development of a global implementation roadmap for the prevention of respiratory disease outbreaks, is taking place on the final day of a meeting with more than 120 individuals representing Member States, partners and the WHO Secretariat. .

The first module of the PRET Initiative focuses on respiratory diseases, including influenza, coronavirus and respiratory syncytial virus. Given the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and avian influenza threat, this module will enable countries to critically review, test and improve their respiratory pandemic planning efforts to ensure they have operational capacity and capacity.

Identification of pathogens such as arboviruses arising from this initiative is underway. This follows the priorities set out in the ten proposals to strengthen the global architecture for health emergency preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR).

The PRET initiative ushers in a new era in disease preparedness and represents an evolution of WHO’s core activities to support all Member States’ health emergency preparedness, prevention and response capacities and capabilities. The initiative could be used to implement the objectives and provisions of the pandemic agreement currently being negotiated by WHO member states.

Following the input and discussions of meeting participants, the WHO is calling for this global call to action for stakeholders to enhance preparedness for respiratory disease outbreaks.

to practicality

WHO, Member States and partners are working together to identify and implement national, regional and global pandemic preparedness and priority actions to prevent emerging infectious diseases. We recognize the need for the role of the community and all sectors and for concerted and sustained action to end the all-too-common cycle of fear and complacency in pandemic preparedness and response.

We recall the lessons learned from past outbreaks and epidemics, particularly those caused by respiratory pathogens. These pathogens are, and will continue to be, a major global threat, causing disease and death, straining health systems, destabilizing the global economy, and exacerbating inequities and using tools to prevent epidemics. Health care for all people.

This is a call to action to accelerate global preparedness for pandemics and emerging threats. Effective preparedness is based on solid planning and coordinated action. A joint commitment to the following activities will demonstrate progress by December 2025 (Preparedness and Resilience (PRET) monitoring framework:

1. Update preparation plans that confirm priority actions And consider what you’ve learned from past events. Recognizing the risks posed by respiratory pathogens, develop a respiratory pathogen outbreak plan based on the themes described in PRET Module #1: Targeting Respiratory Pathogens It is a matter of priority.
2. Enhance communication between stakeholders in pandemic preparedness planning through strategic coordination and collaboration. This includes building fair systems; conducting a joint exercise; and sharing information about best practices, challenges and opportunities.
3. Provide ongoing investments, funding and monitoring of pandemic preparedness Paying particular attention to addressing the gaps seen during past outbreaks and outbreaks.

The response to the Covid-19 pandemic has shown what can be achieved with political commitment, community engagement and funding. A key part of this work is ensuring equity in our collective preparedness for the next pandemic. In order to make the progress identified in this call to action, action by all of society is needed. Therefore, the implementation should strengthen the resilience of communities; maintain, maintain and build on standard systems; and leveraging extensive capabilities for emergency preparedness and response.

This call to action was released at Preparedness and Resilience to Emerging Threats (PRET): International Meeting on the Future of Respiratory Pathogens, held in Geneva, Switzerland, 24-26 April 2023.