Maldives hosts WHO regional meeting on pandemic preparedness

MALÉ, Maldives (MNTV) — The Maldives is hosting a five-day World Health Organization (WHO) regional meeting aimed at strengthening pandemic preparedness and health security across South and Southeast Asia, as countries seek to improve their ability to detect, prevent and respond to future infectious disease outbreaks.

The WHO South-East Asia Regional Review Meeting on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Security began Sunday, Oct. 18, bringing together 42 international delegates, public health officials and technical specialists to assess regional readiness for emerging health threats.

According to Sun Online, the meeting, which runs through Thursday, October 22, focuses on reviewing three major WHO initiatives designed to strengthen disease surveillance, pandemic planning and international cooperation.

The discussions are centered on the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework, the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) initiative, and WHO’s Unity Studies, which support standardized research and data collection during disease outbreaks.

The PIP Framework promotes international cooperation in sharing influenza viruses with pandemic potential and improving access to vaccines and other medical countermeasures.

The PRET initiative helps countries develop preparedness plans for groups of infectious diseases that share common transmission characteristics, including respiratory pathogens.

Meanwhile, Unity Studies provide standardized methods for investigating outbreaks, helping health authorities understand how infections spread, assess population immunity and develop evidence-based responses.

Together, these initiatives form part of WHO’s broader efforts to address weaknesses in global health systems exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly gaps in early detection, laboratory capacity, medical supplies and international coordination.

The meeting also examines the implementation of a regional pandemic preparedness roadmap for 2026–2031, including measures to improve influenza surveillance and the monitoring of severe respiratory infections.

For the Maldives, hosting the gathering provides an opportunity to highlight the particular challenges faced by small island nations, where geographic isolation, dispersed populations and dependence on international supply chains can complicate responses to major health emergencies.

The Maldivian government expects the discussions to strengthen its national disease surveillance systems, laboratory capabilities and emergency preparedness through cooperation with international health institutions.

Technical collaboration involving the United Kingdom Health Security Agency and WHO reference centers is also expected to support laboratory quality, healthcare workforce training and clinical research.

Maldivian Health Minister Geela Ali, who represents WHO’s South-East Asia Region on the Pandemic Fund Board, emphasized the importance of coordinated planning, stronger health systems and improved surveillance during the opening session.

The Pandemic Fund, established in 2022, provides financing to help countries strengthen their capacity to prevent, prepare for and respond to future pandemics, particularly in areas such as disease surveillance, laboratories and public health workforce development.