Singapore pushes for pandemic preparedness
'As the world grapples with the global economic slowdown, countries have an even more uphill task guarding against pandemic planning fatigue and complacency,' said the minister.
'We should not relent on pandemic preparedness, and certainly should not put off preparing for a pandemic till it is too late.'
He added that countries that have been planning for a flu pandemic should extend their plans beyond the health sector. In addition, testing plans through operational exercises is important in validating the plans and identifying gaps that need to be plugged.
According to the World Bank/UN Report, only 53 per cent of countries have tested their plans and just one-quarter have done so at all levels of their governments.
'This is not comforting. Untested strategies on paper are just as good as not having any contingency plans because these strategies may well fail the moment a pandemic starts,' said Mr Wong.
