Message from the Secretary-General on Pandemic Preparedness

Dear Colleagues,

As you know, the continuing and rapid spread of avian influenza poses serious challenges for the countries and people we serve. Meanwhile, there is widespread concern that the virus causing bird flu might start to spread easily from person to person, prompting a human influenza pandemic. We do not know for sure if or when a human pandemic will erupt, but we do know that there is no time to lose in prep aring and planning for that possibility. In this process, the priority of the United Nations family is not only to serve the world at large, but to care for its own staff.

It is with that in mind that I have written to United Nations System Executive Heads, senior managers and United Nations Country Teams to share with them pandemic planning and preparedness guidance for the United Nations System. The Guidelines, designed to help managers take measures to protect staff and to ensure continuity of operations, has been prepared through a broad consultative process and takes into account the experiences of UN Country Teams. With this guidance, I am asking all duty stations to designate an avian and human influenza coordinator, identify essential functions, and establish ways in which these functions can best be carried out. I am asking them to put contingency plans in place by the end of May. I have asked the United Nations System Influenza Coordinator, Dr. David Nabarro, to help managers undertake this planning, and to monitor our overall preparedness.

Every effort will of course be made to prevent a human influenza pandemic, and the United Nations family has a key role to play in that mission. But it has an equal obligation to be ready for every contingency. That is why I have urged managers to give this issue the highest priority.

Yours sincerely,

Kofi A. Annan

Q & A on UN System Pandemic Preparedness

Contact

Please use the following email address to submit any questions you have about the United Nations System response to Avian Influenza for staff.

avianflu@un.org