Major Issues and Challenges of Influenza Pandemic Preparedness in Developing Countries

Better preparedness for an infl uenza pandemic mitigates its impact. Many countries have started developing and implementing national infl uenza pandemic preparedness plans. However, the level of preparedness varies among countries. Developing countries encounter unique and diffi cult issues and challenges in preparing for a pandemic. Deaths attributable to an infl uenza pandemic could be substantially higher in developing countries than in industrialized countries. Pharmaceutical interventions such as vaccines and antiviral agents are less likely to be available in developing countries. The public health and clinical infrastructure of developing countries are often inadequate to deal with a widespread health crisis such as an infl uenza pandemic. Such an event will inevitably have a global effect. Therefore, improving pandemic preparedness in every country, particularly developing ones, is urgently needed. *Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan Avian influenza, caused by influenza A virus (H5N1), continues to cause outbreaks among poultry and wild birds worldwide. It has spread from Asia to other regions, including Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The number of cases of human subtype H5N1 infection also continues to rise. These historically unprecedented outbreaks have raised serious global concerns about the imminent arrival of an influenza pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) urges countries to develop and implement national pandemic preparedness plans to mitigate the health and social effects of a pandemic (1). However, the level of preparedness varies among countries. In general, developing countries have limited financial and technical resources to strengthen pandemic preparedness. They also face some unique and difficult issues, which make preparing for a pandemic more challenging. These have not been addressed adequately during planning. Effective and feasible strategies are needed to mitigate the impact of the next influenza pandemic in developing countries.