Joanne Chan Channel NewsAsia 22 Jul 10;
SINGAPORE : ASEAN has urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to review its pandemic alert levels.
It noted that the severity or virulence factor of a disease should be considered for future pandemics.
This call emerged from the day-long retreat at the 10th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting, held at the Shangri-La Hotel, on Thursday.
WHO is currently evaluating its guidelines on what constitutes a pandemic, after it was criticised for overreacting to the H1N1 flu outbreak last year.
During the retreat, ASEAN Health Ministers discussed last year's H1N1 outbreak in the region, among other issues.
And even though the threat of the H1N1 pandemic has passed, the region will no doubt be confronted by new outbreaks in future.
And when that happens, countries will hopefully respond better, by drawing on past lessons learnt.
Singapore Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who is also the chairman of the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting, said: "We also look forward to a speedy resolution of the mechanism for viruses and benefit sharing.
"We welcome the view of the global response to the H1N1 pandemic, by the international health regulations review committee, and we look forward to the outcome of the review."
ASEAN nations have stepped down or are in the process of stepping down their alert status - as the H1N1 pandemic no longer poses a threat to the community.
Although H1N1 has since passed its peak, the ministers all agreed it is important to continue educating the public on good hygiene practices. They also emphasised the need for high-risk groups, such as the elderly, to go for vaccination.
The ministers also called for greater collaboration with countries in East Asia on combating disease outbreaks.
Mr Khaw said: "When fighting international disease outbreaks, we are most effective when working with as many of our neighbours as possible. So we decided that we should task our senior officials to study how the collaboration can be implemented."
Moving away from H1N1, an ASEAN Dengue Day has been proposed to raise awareness of this health menace. Mr Khaw said a date has yet to be fixed.
The next ASEAN Health Ministers meeting will be held in Thailand in 2012. - CNA/ms
Relook WHO pandemic alert system, Asean urges
Straits Times 23 Jul 10;
REGIONAL health ministers meeting in Singapore have called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to review its pandemic alert levels, so as to take into consideration the severity and speed at which a virus spreads in future outbreaks.
Speaking at the conclusion of the two-day Asean Health Ministers Meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore's Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who currently chairs the biennial meeting, said the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak was one of the main topics discussed.
This is the second such call to WHO by Mr Khaw in just over a year.
WHO's pandemic alert system has been under scrutiny over the past two years, with health experts saying it should focus on the severity of outbreaks rather than factors such as the geographical spread of the disease.
The concern of individual countries is that if WHO looks mostly at geography when deciding on pandemic levels, it risks labelling an outbreak a pandemic when in reality, the threat level is not that high.
By following these guidelines, public health authorities say WHO has exaggerated the risks and created unnecessary alarm.
Earlier this year, WHO announced that it would conduct an internal review of its system. A group of independent experts will also review how the H1N1 pandemic was handled. It is scheduled to present its findings at a conference in May next year.
Regional officials meeting at yesterday's conference here noted that the outbreak has entered the post-pandemic phase, and all 10 Asean nations have stepped down or are in the process of stepping down their alert status.
Ministers meeting yesterday also proposed an Asean Dengue Day to raise awareness of the disease in the region.
AMRESH GUNASINGHAM
