A World Health Organization (WHO) launched, this Wednesday (4/26), a new strategy to guide countries to better prepare for future pandemics.
The Emerging Threats Preparedness and Resilience Initiative (PRET) provides recommendations on integrated response planning for any respiratory virus likely to become a global threat – such as influenza or the coronavirus – rather than focusing on just one specific disease.
“Instead of focusing on specific pathogens or diseases, PRET takes an integrated approach to pandemic planning, focusing on groups of pathogens and the systems they affect,” explains WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during press conference held this Wednesday.
PRET incorporates learnings with approaches and tools acquired during the Covid-19 pandemic and other recent public health emergencies. In WHO’s opinion, countries need to be operationally prepared to respond to infectious disease threats, with customized preparedness plans to be used at any time, improving coordination and collaboration with other sectors that may be related, such as agriculture.
“Preparedness, prevention and response activities should not be exclusive to the health sector. Just as health emergencies impact many sectors, our preparedness and response efforts must also span sectors, disciplines and pathogens,” says Ghebreyesus.
Phases
At first, PRET will focus on respiratory viruses, including influenza, coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and as yet unknown pathogens.
“Given the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the potential threat of avian influenza, this module will allow countries to critically review, test and update their respiratory pandemic planning efforts to ensure they have functional capabilities in place,” states the WHO, in a statement.
Work is also underway to identify the next group of pathogens that can be addressed in the initiative, such as arboviruses.
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