ArticleBMC infectious diseases2018
Pandemic influenza preparedness in the WHO African region: are we ready yet?
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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11 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Modelling the drivers of outbreak communication in online media news for improved event-based surveillance.PloS one · 2025Article
- Ethical Considerations in Infodemic Management: Systematic Scoping Review.JMIR infodemiology · 2024Article
- Role of hospital leadership in pandemic preparedness: experience at a tertiary hospital in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMJ leader · 2024Article
- Use of Sentinel Surveillance Platforms for Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 Activity: Evidence From Analysis of Kenya Influenza Sentinel Surveillance Data.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- A baseline review of the ability of hospitals in Kenya to provide emergency and critical care services for COVID-19 patients.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2021Review
- Simulation Innovation: A Novel Simulation Guide for Building Community Simulation Capacity in Pandemic Preparedness.Simulation in healthcare : journal of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare · 2020Article
- Preparedness of African Palliative Care Services to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rapid Assessment.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2020Article
- Rethinking the COVID-19 Pandemic: Back to Public Health.Annals of global health · 2020Article
- An Invited Commentary on "World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)": Emergency or new reality?International journal of surgery (London, England) · 2020Article
- Preparedness and vulnerability of African countries against importations of COVID-19: a modelling study.Lancet (London, England) · 2020Article
- Towards systematic evaluation of epidemic responses during humanitarian crises: a scoping review of existing public health evaluation frameworks.BMJ global health · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrior to the 2009 pandemic H1N1, and the unprecedented outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) caused by the H5N1 virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) called upon its Member States to develop preparedness plans in response to a new pandemic in humans. The WHO Member States responded to this call by developing national pandemic plans in accordance with the International Health Regulations (IHR) to strengthen the capabilities of Member States to respond to different pandemic scenarios. In this study, we aim to evaluate the quality of the preparedness plans in the WHO African region since their inception in 2005.
methodsA standard checklist with 61 binary indicators ("yes" or "no") was used to assess the quality of the preparedness plans. The checklist was categorised across seven thematic areas of preparedness: preparation (16 indicators); coordination and partnership (5 indicators); risk communication (8 indicators); surveillance and monitoring (7 indicators); prevention and containment (10 indicators); case investigation and treatment (10 indicators) and ethical consideration (5 indicators). Four assessors independently scored the plans against the checklist.
resultsOf the 47 countries in the WHO African region, a total of 35 national pandemic plans were evaluated. The composite score for the completeness of the pandemic plans across the 35 countries was 36%. Country-specific scores on each of the thematic indicators for pandemic plan completeness varied, ranging from 5% in Côte d'Ivoire to 79% in South Africa. On average, preparation and risk communication scored 48%, respectively, while coordination and partnership scored the highest with an aggregate score of 49%. Surveillance and monitoring scored 34%, while prevention and containment scored 35%. Case investigation and treatment scored 25%, and ethical consideration scored the lowest of 14% across 35 countries. Overall, our assessment shows that pandemic preparedness plans across the WHO African region are inadequate.
conclusionsMoving forward, these plans must address the gaps identified in this study and demonstrate clarity in their goals that are achievable through drills, simulations and tabletop exercises.
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