Anticipation and response: pandemic influenza in Malawi, 2009

Sambala, Evanson Z.; Manderson, Lenore

Malawi moved quickly on the declaration of the pandemic. A special advisory committee on pandemic influenza was established to oversee the implementation of the pandemic plan, and country delegates joined other African countries at the first African Regional Conference on Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) in Johannesburg, held in June 2009, to discuss the implementation of the plans. Malawi also participated in the deployment of H1N1 vaccines funded by the WHO and other donors, an action not part of the initial preparedness plan but incorporated in response to donor recommendations. As part of the response, Malawi established influenza surveillance at ports of entry, with routine checks for suspected cases, and suspected samples were sent to Kenya for diagnostic confirmation. Hence, as one participant remarked, 'despite the lack of labs, we managed to set up surveillance networks within the country and this paid off by picking up four confirmed cases' (P21). The MoH was also seen to be successful in sensitising the public on the risks of the pandemic and the means of prevention, through its use of advertisements on national radio and the distribution of written educational materials to the general public.