|
A three-day International Ministerial Conference on Avian and
Pandemic Influenza concluded here today. The
Conference was attended by Representatives from 111 countries. Representatives from 29 International Organizations
also participated which included Director
Generals of International Organisations like WHO, FAO, World Bank, OIE, etc.
The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh addressed the delegates
on the second day of the Conference i.e. 5th December, 2007.
Minister for Agriculture, Government of India, Shri Sharad Pawar and Minister
for Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss were
among those who addressed the Conference. The Conference had 12 Sessions on various subjects
pertaining to Avian and Pandemic Influenza. The Conference was jointly organized by the Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare and Department of Animal Husbandry (Ministry of Agriculture), Government
of India. “A Vision and Road Map” was released by Government of India at the conclusion
of the three-day Conference and handed over to World Bank and UN System Influenza
Coordinator. The following is the full text of the Vision and Road Map: “The
Vision of New Delhi The vision emerging from the New Delhi
Conference is both broad and ambitious: to take forward the concept of “One World
and One Health” as a contribution to pandemic preparedness and human security.
Rising demands for animal products (associated with poverty reduction)
and changes in ecosystems (due to population growth and climate change) are increasing
human susceptibility to infection with animal diseases.
Each Government should, therefore, encourage functional links between human
and animal health systems, while investing in sustainable capacity for preventing
and controlling high risk infectious diseases in animals (and thus contributing
to better animal health), both within country and in conjunction with neighbouring
nations (through cross-border cooperation). Governments should also invest in public health
security, implementing the capacities necessary for the full implementation of
the international health regulations and extending their influence across national
boundaries. When making these investments
Governments would draw on the standard guidelines of international organisations.
To aid Governments and other stakeholders move more rapidly towards the
“One World - One Health” vision, the Conference Hosts have developed a Road Map. The
Proposed National Road Map for 2008 A Road Map that sets out the actions
that a nation intends to implement could help with the establishment of achievable
benchmarks to be pursued by all concerned government entities, and other stakeholders.
It would encourage focused action and counter uncertainty, fatigue and
confusion. The New Delhi Road Map for 2008 is 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. It
identifies simple milestones on the road to the vision – milestones that each
country should seek to reach during 2008. The Road Map is as follows: By
the end of 2008, the nation …….Building commitments 1.
will
have earned the highest-level political commitment and leadership by establishing
an inter-ministerial oversight and coordination mechanism to which will ensure
collective efforts of stakeholders from different sectors: it should have a clear
mission (to guide and shape the national response), a central command system (for
defining, implementing and monitoring strategies), and the capacity to mobilize
and track resources (to ensure adequate funding); …………Assessments: knowing where we stand 2.
will
have worked with international organizations to assess short, medium and long-term
needs in their animal and human health sectors, indicate priority areas for attention
(including leadership development, training, communications, applied research
and management), and identify financial and other resource gaps that need to be
filled – using OIE’s standards for veterinary services and WHO’s assessments of
capacity to implement IHR (2005), with information obtained through the assessments
being shared in an open manner; 3.
will
have considered current legal instruments, enabling legislation and procedures
for endorsement to assess whether they are adequate to support and implement national
plans for maintaining animal health, safeguarding human health and undertaking
disease containment; ………Surveillance and response: watching,
detecting, confirming and responding 4.
will
have developed effective animal disease surveillance and response systems, as
well as compensation schemes for those who lose animals or property in the interests
of disease control, and implementing compensation and disseminating information
about it to facilitate both reporting and participation in control measures; 5.
will
implement intensive action in the event of entrenched H5N1 (including strategies
for commencing and discontinuing poultry vaccination, studies of vaccine efficacy
and protocols for accessing vaccine banks); 6.
will
have an active surveillance and response system for detection of early human cases
of influenza-like illness, confirming diagnosis through identified laboratories,
ensuring early treatment and initiating studies to determine transmission patterns
and risk factors etc. 7.
will
have established protocols for sharing information and conducting joint investigations
involving animal and human health professionals, with a focus on effective containment
and control of potential zoonotic diseases (especially influenza); ……Preparing: the key to effective action 8.
will
have operational plans for (i) immediate response to and control of A1 in poultry
including reducing risk of human exposure; (ii) rapid containment of early human
cases; (iii) preparing for a pandemic to mitigate its impact, (iv) the early resumption
of livelihoods after a pandemic, and (v) communicating reliable information of
disease outbreaks and pandemics. Plans should be adapted to the realities and
context at the local level, detail all necessary arrangements for implementation
and clearly delineate roles and responsibilities; 9.
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
organizations and factoring in the impact sickness and absenteeism and the needs
of diverse groups (including migrants, refugees and other vulnerable groups); 10.
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 – including some that have not yet tested their
plans; ……Biosecurity: practices for the safe
and healthy rearing of livestock 11.
will
have started to improve bio-security in the poultry sector: a.
committing
to developing, implementing and enforcing a national policy for bio-security drawing
upon the expertise of FAO and OIE and engaging the commercial poultry sector; b.
exploring
options for introducing bio-security into household poultry production. ……Public health: ensuring human health
security 12.
will
have established and validated protocols for pandemic containment, including procedures
for contributing to, drawing on and distributing national and regional stocks
of anti-viral medicines, vaccines (if available) and personal protective equipment,
in conjunction with WHO, regional bodies and neighbouring countries; 13.
will
have identified hospitals for the management of human cases of HPAI, ensuring
they have isolation facilities and critical care units and planned for the delivery
of care in these hospitals, including implementation of strict infection control
practice, the management of surges of patients with influenza and absenteeism
due to staff illness. [If these hospitals
are distantly placed then hospital nearest to the event could be strengthened
by mobilizing resources for critical care]; 14.
will
have prepared communities to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions in the
event of a pandemic – so as to minimize the risk of infection, including community
mitigation measures; 15.
will
have established procedures for ensuring access to laboratories for confirmation
– via an accredited laboratory, either in country or the nearest in the region; 16.
will
– if capable of molecular characterization and vaccine research – have participated
in global monitoring of the character of influenza viruses in the region and supported
the global initiatives by UN and partners for capacity building, development of
medicines and vaccines and improvements in protocols for diagnosis and treatment
of influenza; …Coordination: the whole is better
than the sum of the parts 17.
will
have emphasized coordination between animal and public health sectors, with a
process at State or Province level (with periodic regular meetings); 18.
will
have incorporated pandemic preparation into national disaster management structures,
involving sectors other than health, with a process to review roles and responsibilities
for ensuring continuity of services (with meetings at least twice a year); 19.
will
have established platforms for dialogue between government, civil society and
the private sector at the regional, national, province and sub-province level
(practical arrangements will depend on in-country context and the extent of decentralization); …Communication: central defence against
Avian and Pandemic Influenza 20.
will
have reviewed their communication programmes, with the active engagement of families
and communities, and assessed their efficacy at disseminating meaningful, accurate
and precise messages that are adapted to the populations for whom they are designed
and the impact of these messages among different groups.
[The communication strategy covers programmes (to increase awareness about
dangers of livestock diseases how risk can be minimized through behaviourial changes
and simple hygienic practices; to inform on actions to be taken at the time when
there is an outbreak in poultry; and to guide both public and professional groups
when there is infection of humans]; ……Next steps 21.
will
build on experiences with HPAI control, and on the New Delhi vision, to prepare
a national one world – one health strategy for the next three years and – after
evaluating progress in 2008 – develop a road map for 2009”. AKS/SRK/SK/Road
Map - 191
|
‘Vision and Road Map’ Released at the Conclusion of the Three-Day International Ministerial Conference on Bird Flu
