WHO: Vaccine stockpiling, increasing developing country vaccine production capacity and reviewing IHR

“SARS was a wake-up call for all of us. It spread faster than we had predicted and was only contained through intensive cooperation between countries which prevented this new disease from gaining a foothold," said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization. "Today, the greatest threat to international public health security would be an influenza pandemic. The threat of a pandemic has not receded, but implementation of the IHR will help the world to be better prepared for the possibility of a pandemic."

“The experience of recent decades shows that no individual country can protect itself from diseases and other public health threats. All countries are vulnerable to the spread of pathogens and their economic, political and social impact”

Following on from the WHO’s World Health Assembly last month, several manufacturers (including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi-Pasteur, Baxter and Omnivest) have pledged millions of doses to contribute to the stockpiling scheme. GSK will donate 50 million doses of H5N1 pre-pandemic vaccine over a 3 year period with the goal of providing enough vaccine for 25 million people.

This latest action by the WHO is coupled by a push to increase and strengthen the vaccine production capacity of developing countries through six grant schemes. In May, the first of these grants provided. In addition to the vaccine stockpiling and the grants, the WHO is announcing the latest revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR). Significant to the flight against avian flu, the IHR revision emphasizes that “health emergencies be contained at the source, not just national borders”. They also stipulate:

• “Notification. Greater openness demanded by a world in which serious disease events are increasingly visible.
• Designation of National IHR Focal Points: world on 24-hour alert.
• Establishment of core public health capacities to maximize surveillance and response.
  Cross-sectoral international collaboration key to implementing IHR..
  Threat-specific international programs to improve international health security.”
  

For more see the WHO press release and article
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2007/pr31/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2007/s14/en/index.html
http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/news/ng.asp?n=77381-world-health-organization-stockpile-avian-flu-vaccine