Less flu disease and a flu program in every country by 2030, WHO says

March 15, 2019 – This month the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a new 10-year strategy for safeguarding the health of all people from influenza. It sets the tone for global work on influenza over the coming decade, with the goals of preventing seasonal influenza, controlling the spread of influenza from animals to humans, and preparing for the next pandemic.

The strategy calls on countries and partners including CDC to align their global and national capacities for influenza prevention, rapid detection and response so that countries will reduce the burden and the impact of seasonal, zoonotic and pandemic influenza by 2030.

High-level outcomes for 2030 include new and improved tools for prevention, detection, control and treatment of influenza, and a prioritized influenza program that contributes to national and global preparedness, response and health security, in every country.

To get there, WHO has outlined four strategic objectives which include promoting research and innovation to fill urgent knowledge gaps in the current understanding of the influenza virus and host response; strengthening global influenza surveillance, monitoring and data utilization; expanding seasonal flu prevention and control policies and programs to protect the vulnerable; and strengthening pandemic preparedness and response.

U.S. CDC is one of six WHO Collaborating Centers on Influenza. CDC has served as a Collaborating Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Control of Influenza in Atlanta, Georgia since 1956 and is the largest global resource and reference center supporting public health interventions to control and prevent pandemic and seasonal influenza.

Go to Global Influenza Strategy: 2019-2030 and WHO launches new global influenza strategy for more information.