WHO claims landmark agreement to improve global preparedness for flu pandemics

The World Health Organization announced yesterday that, after a week of negotiations continued through Friday night and into Saturday morning, an open-ended working-group meeting of member states successfully agreed upon a Framework that ensures that, in a pandemic, influenza virus samples will be shared with partners who need the information to take steps to protect public health.

The working-group meeting was convened under the authority of the World Health Assembly and coordinated by the WHO, and will be presented to the Assembly meeting in taking place in May for consideration and approval. The negotiations started four years ago, after the emergence of the bird flu virus epidemic in Southeast Asia.

The new Framework includes certain binding legal regimes for the WHO, national influenza laboratories around the world and industry partners in both developed and developing countries that will strengthen how the world responds more effectively with the next flu pandemic. By making sure that the roles and obligations among key players are better established than in the past - including through the use of contracts - the Framework will help increase and expedite access to essential vaccines, antivirals and diagnostic kits, especially for lower-income countries.