Infokiri

Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to inform you that ECDC and WHO Regional Office for Europe will be organising a meeting on pandemic preparedness planning in the EU/EEA, to take place on the premises of the Italian Istituto Superiore di Sanita on the 3-4 December 2024.

Formal invitations will be coming in due course. Invitations will be coming through ECDC, who will invite 1 National Focal Point for Viral Respiratory Disease (or their nominee) per country. Alternatively, should the NFP not be available, someone with expertise on pandemic influenza preparedness can be nominated to attend.

By the time of this meeting, it will have been nearly 4 years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, many lessons have been learned that can be harnessed to inform revisions of national pandemic preparedness plans. In addition, the health security governance landscape, both within the EU and globally, has changed significantly during this time.

It is thus timely to convene a meeting focused on pandemic preparedness planning meeting. The objectives are to update countries on recent international and national developments, to enable exchange of country experiences and practices related to pandemic preparedness, and to identify further areas for cross-border collaboration, with a focus on respiratory viruses.

Kind regards,

ECDC and WHO Regional Office for Europe