Ottawa 2005: Global Pandemic Influenza Readiness
An International Meeting of Ministers of Health
Questions and Answers
1. Why has Canada called for this international meeting on pandemic influenza?
The threat of a pandemic influenza is a matter of global health security. It is important that countries look beyond their own borders to plan and prepare for a possible pandemic.
As a world leader in pandemic influenza preparedness, the Canadian government recognizes that high level political commitment across the globe is required to strengthen international collaboration and coordination in response to the threat of avian and pandemic influenza. (Weblink to overview backgrounder).
By hosting this international meeting of Health Ministers and delegations of some 30 key countries, together with the heads of international organizations, Canada is helping to advance international efforts to prepare for a potential influenza pandemic.
Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh will chair the meeting and Minister of State (Public Health) Carolyn Bennett will participate in the discussions.
2. Who has been invited to attend this international meeting?
Ministers of Health and delegations from 30 countries from both the developed and developing world have been invited to attend, including the South East Asian nations affected by the current avian influenza outbreak. International organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health have also been invited. (See weblink for a complete list of invited/attending countries and organizations)
3. When and where will this international meeting be held?
This international meeting of Ministers of Health will be held October 24 to 25, 2005 in Ottawa and will be hosted by Canada.
4. What will be discussed at this meeting?
In preparation for the meeting, Canada has drafted issue papers around four key themes. These issue papers will have been circulated to participating countries in advance of the meeting, so that participants can come prepared to address the issues and to agree on priorities and follow-up actions.
These four key themes will be discussed by Ministers of Health, delegations, and international organization representatives at the meeting:
- The interface between animals and humans - or how to reduce the spread of infectious diseases among animals, and from animals to humans, by addressing the outbreaks at the source. (Weblink to backgrounder)
- Improving surveillance to be able to detect and identify viruses at an early stage. (Weblink to backgrounder)
- Vaccine development and access. (Weblink to backgrounder)
- The role of risk communications, or how to ensure the accurate and timely sharing of information both before and during a pandemic. (Weblink to backgrounder)
5. What will the meeting achieve?
Canada hopes that hosting this international meeting will stimulate governments and organizations around the world to accelerate planning and preparation for a likely pandemic threat.
Together with others nations, it is our intention to advance this issue as a global priority and to agree on key activities and issues that require worldwide collaboration and coordination.
The focus of this meeting is therefore with senior Ministers and heads of organizations who, as leaders in their spheres of influence, can provide the direction and the political will to make pandemic preparedness a priority.
Collectively, all efforts will help to ensure that we can prepare and respond globally and effectively to infectious disease outbreaks.
6. What is the link between this international meeting and other initiatives, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Plan for Pandemic Preparedness and the US International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza?
This meeting will complement and help advance a number of important initiatives, including those being undertaken by the WHO and the United States which focus more on how to move forward from an expert and technical perspective.
This is one of the first times that a group of Ministers of Health from both developing and developed countries, together with heads of human and animal health organizations, have come together to discuss an issue of this importance to global health security.
7. What is Canada contributing internationally to help prepare for an influenza pandemic?
In September 2005, Canada announced a $15 million Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)-funded project to help improve South East Asia's ability to respond to public health issues. Canada is also providing support to pandemic preparedness and response through a variety of initiatives and mechanisms including the provision of technical expertise to committees such as the Global Health Security Action Group, and the development and maintenance of the Global Public Health Intelligence Network, a key surveillance mechanism used by the World Health Organization. Canada is also providing direct technical assistance to countries, including Vietnam, where for the past 18 months Canada has been working to strengthen laboratory capacity for detecting H5N1 influenza.
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