Harare - The World Health Organization (WHO) is hosting an important meeting in Zimbabwe from January 28 to 31, 2025, to discuss how to better prepare for flu pandemics. This Regional Coordination Meeting for the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework: Partnership Contribution High-Level Implementation Plan III (HLIP III) will bring together key representatives from 14 African countries, including Angola, Chad, Cabo Verde, Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, South Africa, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe. Alongside these country representatives, officials from WHO Country Offices, the Regional Office, Headquarters, and the PIP Secretariat will also participate. The focus of the meeting is to review the progress made in the first year of HLIP III and to refine the implementation plans for the second year. The participants will work on reinforcing pandemic preparedness strategies, which include strengthening laboratory capacities, improving surveillance systems, and enhancing regulatory frameworks. Additionally, the meeting aims to optimize resources and foster collaboration among countries to boost influenza preparedness across the region. 

Africa faces numerous health challenges, such as frequent disease outbreaks, underreporting, and limited healthcare infrastructure. Influenza alone causes between 290,000 and 650,000 deaths globally each year, affecting millions of people. These challenges highlight the urgent need for enhanced preparedness and rapid response systems. Recent global health crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2009 influenza pandemic, have exposed critical gaps in health systems. Beyond the human toll, influenza outbreaks strain fragile health systems, increase work absenteeism, raise healthcare costs, and reduce productivity. This makes proactive planning and collaboration essential to effectively address these threats. 

The WHO's Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework, established in 2011, aims to strengthen global surveillance and response capabilities, improve access to vaccines and treatments, and facilitate the sharing of influenza virus samples. HLIP III builds on the lessons learned from previous plans and focuses on four key areas to enhance pandemic influenza preparedness. These areas include updating national pandemic preparedness plans, strengthening laboratory and surveillance systems for early detection of influenza outbreaks, enhancing risk communication and community engagement, and improving regulatory processes for timely access to vaccines, diagnostics, and antivirals. 

Through the Partnership Contribution (PC) funds, WHO supports 14 African countries, including Zimbabwe, in building resilient health systems. This support helps improve laboratories, surveillance, and pandemic preparedness plans, making these countries better equipped to handle future health threats. The HLIP III provides critical support to enhance influenza preparedness by strengthening laboratory capacities, improving surveillance systems, and developing national pandemic preparedness plans. By working together, WHO aims to help African countries become more resilient and better prepared to handle public health emergencies. The PIP Framework and HLIP III offer essential tools to mitigate the impact of future influenza pandemics and other emerging health threats. Through collaborative efforts, WHO strives to improve the preparedness and resilience of member states in the WHO AFRO region against public health emergencies.