Anticipation and response: pandemic influenza in Malawi, 2009

Sambala, Evanson Z.; Manderson, Lenore

When WHO declared the pandemic on 11 June, 2009, a national taskforce was established in Malawi comprising technical experts in infectious diseases. The taskforce met regularly to discuss and provide scientific advice on the management strategies and operational emergency responses required should a pandemic be declared in Malawi. Despite these meetings, and the existence of a formal plan, progress towards influenza preparedness across the country was slow, with the MoH facing numerous practical challenges [7] . These included the lack of an effective influenza surveillance system to send early signals of impending influenza activity in human and animal populations, and the lack of mechanisms to provide information to health services at the district level for the prevention, treatment and control of influenza. These operational challenges raised concerns about whether specific responses to planning for and response to pandemic influenza (PRPI), as characterised in the national plan, were achievable. This problem was not unique to Malawi [7] .