Distinguished Participants, Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am pleased to welcome you to this meeting on emerging infectious diseases and the workshop on the deployment of pandemic influenza vaccines. The Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus continues to spread at vast speed and although it has caused mostly mild illness so far, more than 1450 people globally have died, including 169 deaths in the Western Pacific Region alone, and the danger remains of its evolution into a more pathogenic form.
Fortunately, we are well prepared today, reaping the benefits from national capacity strengthening and pandemic preparedness efforts made to date. WHO has been closely monitoring this evolving pandemic and providing continuous technical advice with highly valuable contributions made by our focal points for the International Health Regulations.
Even before this pandemic, this Region faced serious public health threats from various emerging diseases, such as SARS, avian influenza and dengue. The recent 4th Meeting of the Asia Pacific Technical Advisory Group on Emerging Infectious Diseases recommended maintaining the momentum in implementing the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases to meet the requirements of the International Health Regulations (2005).
This week's meeting on emerging infectious diseases is especially important for two reasons. First, we can review the progress and challenges, and we can develop concrete action plans, to reach regional core capacity development goals by 2010. Second, we can share updated information, review progress on pandemic preparedness and response, and identify next steps to implement the Technical Advisory Group's 2009 recommendations.
I am also pleased to note that a regional workshop on pandemic vaccine deployment is taking place alongside the emerging infectious diseases meeting, with some common sessions for both groups, and synergies on which they can build efficiently.
Although not deployed in previous pandemics, vaccines may be one of the most important components of our current pandemic mitigation strategy. By July 2009, WHO had coordinated more than 400 shipments of 13 candidate vaccine viruses to manufacturers and technical institutions. With many products now at an advanced stage of clinical trials, availability of the vaccines is likely later this year. In line with the recommendations of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, we are maintaining a dialogue with manufacturers to ensure access to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine across all countries.
However, while efforts are made to secure vaccine supplies, it is equally important to make preparations to ensure the efficient use of their potentially limited supplies to maxi-mize their public health impact. This needs preparations for expedited regulatory approvals for in-country vaccine licensing and for their rapid distribution to priority high-risk groups.
In this week's meeting for programme managers dealing with emerging infectious diseases, some of you will work together to develop concrete workplans to speed up APSED and IHR implementation. The workshop will help the participants develop or update their pandemic vaccine deployment plans in the overall context of their national pandemic response plans. I sincerely hope that the two groups' common sessions will lead to stronger joint planning and coordinated pandemic responses in our Member States.
I would highly encourage you, wherever you are from—developed or developing nations—to support one another in the spirit of collective actions to ensure global public health security. I'm sure you will have very successful deliberations, and I look forward to hearing about the outcome of these meetings.
Enjoy your stay in Manila.
Thank you.