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A collaborative approach to strengthening pandemic preparedness in South-East Asia
Region
South-East Asia Region
Countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region are proactively developing and refining their national influenza pandemic plans. Supported by global partnerships and frameworks, these efforts aim to enhance preparedness and resilience against future pandemics by integrating lessons from past outbreaks and aligning with regional and global health security strategies.
Developing and refining national influenza pandemic plans
Recognizing the devastating effects of previous influenza pandemics, countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region have been developing and refining their national influenza pandemic plans as a foundation for managing their responses to a future pandemic. With support from the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework Partnership Contribution and other sources including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Bank, countries have taken a systematic approach to updating and exercising their plans. This has been done by incorporating lessons from previous epidemics and pandemics, utilizing global guidance and checklists, and adapting them to their national context.
Aligning planning within regional and global frameworks
The WHO South-East Asia Regional Office is taking an integrative approach by aligning the development of pandemic preparedness plans under the umbrella of National Action Plans for Health Security (NAPHS), with regional and global frameworks. Most notably this has included using the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) Module 1, and the Regional Strategic Roadmap for Health Security and Health System Resilience for Emergencies 2023–2027. The PRET Module 1 applies a mode-of-transmission approach to develop integrated and efficient respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness plans that allow for influenza specificities.
India and Bangladesh for example, have conducted national workshops and consultations to develop respiratory pathogen preparedness plans with multiple sectors to ensure a holistic approach to pandemic planning. Similarly, Thailand has integrated its National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan into its all-hazard disaster response plan to link pandemic influenza planning to broader core capacity strengthening under the International Health Regulations (2005).
Other countries in the region, including Nepal and Bhutan, are preparing for similar multi-sectoral workshops and consultations to update their plans and to conduct simulation exercises.
Current status of pandemic plan updates
In 2022, the Regional Office for South-East Asia conducted an influenza landscape analysis, which included the mapping of pandemic plans being developed by its Member States. This formed the basis for providing more targeted support to countries in updating their pandemic plans using the PRET Module 1 guidance and ensuring the inclusion of influenza-specificities. Now, with collaborative efforts at the national, regional, and global levels, nine of the eleven countries in the South-East Asia Region are in the process of updating and testing their influenza or broad respiratory pathogen pandemic plans.