WHO outlined details of what was described as a “landmark” agreement “to ensure that, in a pandemic, influenza virus samples will be shared with partners who need the information to take steps to protect public health.” The agreement was reached by the WHO Open-Ended Working Group of Member States on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (OEWG/PIP), convened under the authority of the World Health Assembly and coordinated by WHO. The new framework includes “certain binding legal regimes for 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 outbreak areas.”

The WHO overview noted that “during an influenza outbreak, knowing the exact makeup of the virus is critical for monitoring the spread of the disease, for knowing the potential of the virus to cause a pandemic and for creating the life-saving vaccines as well as other technological benefits. However, developing countries often have limited access to these vaccines for several reasons:

– they often do not have their own manufacturing capacity,

– global supplies can be limited when there is a surge in demand as is seen during pandemics.

– vaccines can often be priced out of the reach of some countries.

“The new framework will help ensure more equitable access to affordable vaccines and at the same time, also guarantee the flow of virus samples into the WHO system so that the critical information and analyses needed to assess public health risks and develop vaccines are available.”  Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, commented, “This has been a long journey to come to this agreement, but the end result is a very significant victory for public health. It has reinforced my belief that global health in the 21st century hinges on bringing governments and key stakeholders like civil society and industry together to find solutions.”

WHO said the working group was co-chaired by Ambassador Juan José Gomez-Camacho (Mexico) and Ambassador Bente Angell-Hansen (Norway) and included the participation of WHO Member States, industry representatives, civil society and other organizations involved in influenza pandemic preparedness. The agreed upon framework will be presented to the World Health Assembly in May for its consideration and approval. The negotiations by 193 WHO Member States began in November 2007 amid concerns that the avian influenza (H5N1) virus in South-East Asia could become a human pandemic, WHO said.

The text of the agreement is available at: http://www.who.int/entity/csr/disease/influenza/pip_framework_16_april_2011.pdf

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2011/pandemic_influenza_prep_20110417/en/index.html