WHO/Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) will jointly hold a meeting for European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries, plus Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to convene and discuss the latest developments in pandemic planning.
This meeting is a follow-up to a webinar held in April 2024, which highlighted areas that countries deemed to have gaps or challenges in pandemic preparedness. These areas are being explored further through expert talks and simulation exercises for participants. Overall, the meeting will take stock of preparedness developments and priorities since the COVID-19 pandemic and identify and address how preparedness can be further strengthened ahead of the next pandemic.
The objectives of the meeting are to:
- enable an exchange of developments and experiences related to strengthening pandemic preparedness;
- foster collaboration across countries and organizations, bringing together the preparedness and respiratory virus focal points; and
- identify priorities to further strengthen pandemic preparedness in Europe.