Pandemic Preparedness Beyond Health

India is a signatory to the International Health Regulations (2005), a legally binding international agreement that seeks to protect against, control and provide a mechanism to initiate a public health response to the threat or spread of disease causing Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) including that of biological, chemical or radio-nuclear origin. In the context of IHR 2005, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India, the United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT), India, the Pandemic Influenza Contingency (PIC), Geneva and the Organisation for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Regional Office for Asia-Pacific (OCHA-ROAP), Bangkok, jointly organised a workshop on Pandemic Preparedness beyond Health on 21 & 22 April 2008 at the India International Centre, 40 Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi 110003.

The National Disaster Management Authority, headed by the Prime Minister of India, is the apex body for Disaster Management in India.

The UN Disaster Management Team is an inter-agency group currently comprised of nine UN agencies that have come together to exchange information, jointly prepare and respond to disasters, and coordinate with non-UN agencies working on disaster management in India.

The Pandemic Influenza Contingency team is a unit within OCHA, tasked with assisting UN country teams, national governments and humanitarian agencies to be better prepared for the pandemic.

The Workshop was held on 21 & 22 April 2008 at the India International Centre, 40 Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi 110003.

The workshop brought together representatives from key sectors in government, private, non-government, international and regional organisations to deliberate on multi-sector and multi-level pandemic preparedness and linking pandemic preparedness with disaster preparedness.

At the New Delhi International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza (4-6 December 2007), the Government of India presented the New Delhi Vision and Road Map for 2008, designed as a template to be adapted by national authorities and used to enable the nation to be as ready as possible (by the end of 2008) both to control HPAI and to contain and mitigate an influenza pandemic. The Road Map set out actions to be pursued by all concerned government entities and other stakeholders. It identified milestones that each country should seek to reach in 2008.

Concurrently, with the International Ministerial Conference, representatives from the NDMA, UNDMT and PIC met to discuss the possibility of a joint workshop on pandemic preparedness beyond health. Subsequently, it was decided that the deliberations at the proposed workshop will focus on two of the milestones identified in the Road Map:

a) By the end of 2008, the nation will have broadened the scope of pandemic preparedness to include continuity of essential services (water, power, food, transport, finance, public order, tourism and health care) involving community-level groups, private entities, civil society and humanitarian organisations (para 9)

b) By the end of 2008, the nation will have incorporated pandemic preparation into national disaster management structures, involving structures other than health, with a process to review roles and responsibilities for ensuring continuity of services (para 18)

A third milestone of the Road Map is: By the end of 2008, the nation will have regularly tested pandemic preparedness through regular testing including table-top exercises, simulations and mock drills wherever possible jointly with other countries in the region (para 10). The possibility of organising such exercises at a later date in the year with government officials and key stakeholders will be explored at the workshop.*

At the concluding session of the workshop, a core group was formed to work on the Workshop report. The group met on 12 May to discuss the report and make final suggestions.

* A one-day table-top exercise was organised on 25 April 08 for UN heads of agencies and operations personnel by the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) and PIC.