In the fall of 2019, Ready2Respond worked with the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota to conduct a survey to learn more about barriers that low-and middle-income countries face in initiating, expanding, or maintaining seasonal influenza vaccination programs. Data gathered allowed Ready2Respond to focus on three strategic priorities most needed to improve readiness.
Though initially structured around influenza preparedness needs that countries expressed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these priorities will now cover influenza as well as other emerging respiratory viruses such as COVID-19.
- Burden of Disease: Health, Society, Economics
- Risk Communication and Community Engagement
- Vaccine Access
Our Strategic Goals
Ready2Respond’s goal is to assist low- and middle-income countries to:
- Empower countries to better understand the morbidity and mortality from seasonal influenza and other respiratory viral epidemics
- Increase influenza preparedness among their public health priorities
- Bolster sustained access to influenza vaccination consistent with the WHO Global Influenza Strategy 2019-2030
- Support the GHSA and IHR (2005) to elevate countries’ readiness to respond to a pandemic
- Use influenza vaccination programs as foundations for introducing vaccines for emerging respiratory viruses (such as COVID-19)
- Utilize this program as a springboard to build an annual influenza vaccination program in countries where COVID-19 vaccination will be implemented