In order to protect the people globally form the threat of influenza World Health Organization (WHO) had launched a Global Influenza Strategy for year 2019-203019. The main objective of these strategy is to control the spread of influenza from animals to humans, and prepare for the next influenza pandemic. "The on-going risk of a new influenza virus transmitting from animals to humans and potentially causing a pandemic is real.

The WHO strategy for the influenza provides an outline a path to protect populations every year and helps prepare for a pandemic through strengthening routine programmes. It has two overarching goals:

  • Build stronger country capacities for disease surveillance and response, prevention and control, and preparedness. To achieve this, it calls for every country to have a tailored influenza programme that contributes to national and global preparedness and health security.
  • Develop better tools to prevent, detect, control and treat influenza, such as more effective vaccines, antivirals and treatments, with the goal of making these accessible for all countries.

For proper implementation of the strategy WHO will plan to increase the partnership in the field of research and will work closely with countries to improve their capacities to prevent and control influenza. For more than 65 years, the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), comprised of WHO Collaborating Centres and national influenza centers, have worked together to monitor seasonal trends and potentially pandemic viruses.

Benefits of the strategy

  • The strategy meets one of WHO's mandates to improve core capacities for public health, and increase global preparedness and was developed through a consultative process with input from Member States, academia, civil society, industry, and internal and external experts.
  • Supporting countries to strengthen their influenza capacity will have collateral benefits in detecting infection in general, since countries will be able to better identify other infectious diseases like Ebola or Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Conclusion:

The global influenza strategy will guide the countries across the globe to fight against various issues of influenza and will certainly prove to be influential in preventing the pandemic of influenza. This strategy if implemented will bring the countries across the globe into collaboration to lend their hand of support in treating the disease with effect.

Footnote

19 https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/11-03-2019-who-launches-new-global-influenza-strategy

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