Workshop on Health and Economic Impact of Influenza

Bali, Indonesia – 5^th-7^th June 2012

Overview

The World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Department of Health, and Human Services (HHS) and other like-minded organizations and governments are committed to assisting in the creation of regionally-based, independent and sustainable vaccine production capacity in developing countries through capacity building and technology transfer.  As a means of initiating a coordinated discussion among the international partners regarding this shared goal, WHO and HHS convened the Sustainable Influenza Vaccine Production Capacity Stakeholders’ Workshop in Washington D.C. in January 2010.  During the workshop discussions a constantly recurring theme was the notion that international support for establishing or strengthening vaccine production capacity in developing countries must also include appropriate efforts to strengthen regional capacity to collect the data needed to enable policy makers to make informed decisions regarding vaccines.

Building upon the Stakeholders’ Workshop, WHO and HHS are developing a Workshop on Health and Economic Impact of Influenza - Influenza Burden of Disease and Economic Analyses. Burden of disease studies and economic analyses of influenza are some of the most important short-term (next two years) investments to support increasing sustainable influenza vaccine production capacity in developing countries in the mid to long-term (3-15 years). It is considered crucial to provide policy makers with evidence of the impact of influenza on non-health sectors of society such as the national economy to allow the setting up of cost-effective preventive measures such as vaccination policies and promotion for seasonal influenza vaccine uptake.

The Workshop on Economic Analyses  and Influenza Burden of Disease will provide relevant stakeholders the opportunity: to identify essential needs and current gaps in data collection and analysis systems in developing countries; to learn what is required to arrive at a reliable and methodologically sound burden of disease study and analysis of the impact of influenza on national economies; to discuss the development of a coordinated approach to address possible gaps in the system; to identify specific next steps to define evidence-based and cost-effective policies to prevent the impact of influenza on the economy; to discuss ideas for leveraging existing resources at regional and national level; and to identify ways to engage or re-engage with international partners on this issue.

The series of workshops is designed to support and inform the implementation of the WHO Global Pandemic Influenza Action Plan to Increase Vaccine Supply (GAP-2, as updated in July 2011). The updated implementation plan aligns a timeline to stakeholder roles and responsibilities in the creation of sustainable influenza vaccine production capacity worldwide. Outputs from the workshop are intended and expected to serve and influence the implementation of the GAP-2.

Participants

Workshop participants will include a broad range of stakeholders including representatives from developing and developed country government agencies and ministries, international donor organizations, academic institutions, vaccine manufacturers and non-governmental organizations.

Goals

In the context of the overall goals of the WHO Global Pandemic Influenza Action Plan to Increase Vaccine Supply (GAP-2) , aimed at supporting global public health preparedness through contributing to the establishment of strong vaccine production capacities worldwide, this workshop aims to:

• Assist Member States to put in place systems to assess the burden of disease, and evaluate the economic impact of influenza in the local setting
• Support Member States in developing evidence-based and cost-effective policies to address influenza

Objectives

• Provide a forum for highlighting successful models and best practices in evidence-based policy development to mitigate the effects of influenza on the national economy.

• Identify current needs and gaps in data collection and analysis systems in developing countries that must be addressed in order to meet their information need.
• Provide a learning opportunity for government staff on methods and approaches to economic evaluation and influenza burden of disease studies.
• Delineate policy issues and options for the short-, medium-, and long-term.
• Provide an advocacy platform to promote the strengthening of government capacity to plan and implement preventive measures to mitigate the impact of influenza on the national economy and other sectors of society.

Draft Agenda

WHEII Draft Agenda (PDF - 164kb)

Registration

Registration for the Workshop on Health and Economic Impact of Influenza is currently open.
TO REGISTER TO ATTEND:

• • If you have received an invitation to this workshop and would like to attend, please visit http://www.regonline.com/WHEII. You will be directed to the login page, where you will be asked to enter your Email Address and Invitation Code. Please note that participation in this workshop is by invitation only and space is limited.
    

TO DECLINE YOUR ATTENDANCE:

• • If you are unable to attend or would like to decline your invitation, it is important to notify workshop organizers by sending an email to: WHEII@beaconassociates.net.

Workshops Logistics

Contact Information

Alexandra Ganim
alexandra.ganim@hhs.gov

In conjunction with the Vaccine Stakeholder’s workshop, WHO will host a Consultation on the Development of Information Sharing Platforms for Global Public Health Risks, on 8 June 2012.  This consultation will be an opportunity for cross-sector dialogue to strengthen and contribute to health security in the Asia Pacific region. This consultation will provide an opportunity for all sectors to address critical risk management issues in terms of how global and regional health risks impact businesses and the economy. We hope to identify opportunities to lessen the potential detrimental impacts and determine the future roles of business and public sector partnerships. We would encourage those of you who will be participating in the vaccine workshop to attend this consultation, as it will provide a platform for public private investment for global public health risks.  For further information related to this consultation, please kindly contact: Katherine Barker (barkerk@who.int) or Yuki Minato (minatoy@who.int).