Ambassador Peter DeShazo, Director, Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Dr. Carissa, Etienne, Assistant Director, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

Honorable Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary for State for Global Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Distinguished Presenters and Panelists

Ladies and Gentlemen


I am honored and pleased to be the keynote speaker at this conference on “Responding to an Influenza Pandemic in the Americas” organized by the Americas Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

This conference as well as other initiatives is an important event in calling attention to this potential threat facing the globe and the nations of our Hemisphere, with a possible devastating impact on our economies, societies and livelihood.

This meeting is indeed timely and relevant as it stresses the need for preparation to help determine efforts and preparedness through the formulation of efficient and effective response plans—specifically national influenza pandemic response plans.

My message to you today is for the need for preparation, for collaboration and cooperation, for a holistic, integrated and pro-active perspective, and very importantly, of an expanded approach to ensure both efficiency and effectiveness in our planning and in the plans developed.

Preparation and pro-activeness

I see an influenza pandemic to be a real threat economically, socially and politically to the stability, security and development of region, if we all – individuals, scientists, political leaders, business community, civil society, legislators, media, governments, international and regional organizations – do not respond in an adequate and timely manner.

No doubt, this is a threat to the multi-dimensional security of our region. At the OAS, we tend to focus on political and economic issues -- and with good reason.

In my view, we are at a critical moment in the Americas in terms of social, economic and political development. The nations of the Western Hemisphere, and indeed the world, continuously confront challenges that negatively impact political stability, democratic governance as well as social and economic development.

This morning, the conference heard from experts and policy makers on issues of animal and human health, on the threat of pandemics on the economic life of the Americas and on the need for preparation focused on both government and the private sector. The OAS endorses this effort and looks forward to the report on its proceedings. During the 20th century, there were several influenza pandemics.

The Hong Kong flu was responsible for about 1 million deaths worldwide from 1968-69. Scientists have stated that it is impossible to predict the severity of the next influenza pandemic. As such, careful preparation for combating and containing the threat of an influenza pandemic in the Americas is critical.

According to the World Health Organization, only 30 countries worldwide have national influenza pandemic plans. Of these 30, only five of the OAS’ 34 member states -- Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and the United States – were listed as having national plans. This is a cause for concern, a concern that needs to be brought immediately and with a clear message to the attention of the political leaders in out countries.

Natural and other disasters will continue to take place and threaten the global society. By now we know that we do not know enough about how climate changes are taking place, why certain environmental changes are taking place, why certain pandemics are occurring. That is for me the only constant in the reality of today. But I also strongly believe in a prevention, mitigation and preparedness.

Therefore, a pro-active approach is critical if we are to effectively contain the potential of a pandemic, and limit the ultimate cost of loss of life, of physical destruction if we do not act in a coordinated and timely fashion.

I am prepared to submit on your behalf a statement coming from this conference on this matter to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OAS member states who will be meeting in 10 days at the 36th Regular General Assembly of the OAS in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.


Collaboration and Cooperation

The OAS encourages all of its member states to take a collaborative and cooperative approach in developing and testing national influenza pandemic plans, conducting exercises to ensure readiness and creating specific mechanisms for information exchange and early warning.

PAHO, IICA, USDA and others have been working diligently with regional and hemispheric networks to improve surveillance and diagnosis, and exchange information on the occurrence of the disease and on lessons learned.

By now, having heard the experts and using our own rational and logic, we all know that an influenza pandemic has the potential to significantly impact not only animal and human health but also trade, tourism and the economic stability of many of our countries.

In my view, confronting and containing threat must be a shared responsibility. It is a moral obligation not just of experts but especially of leaders of government, of business and industry and of all other elements of the non-governmental sector, including churches and private voluntary organization to formulate cooperative and coordinated strategies as part of regional and national to confront this threat. If not addressed appropriately, these new non-political challenges can have severe negative impact on the stability of our societies and the sustainability of our economies.

We all know that some countries are more vulnerable than others, less capable of responding, with less technical capacity and resources. We also know that in each country—more so in some than others—there are particularly vulnerable populations; women, children, the infirm, the disabled, and all those who live in conditions of poverty and ignorance.

All countries and within them all groups and sub-groups of vulnerable populations must be the object of our concern. At the OAS, we continue to be mindful and supportive of such countries and such groups and call on governments, nongovernmental organizations, community groups, the private sector and civil society at large to become informed and become involved.

Beyond the physical, geographical and economic realities of certain countries, our 21st century world of seamless travel and global trade creates a certain level of vulnerability in many nations. Trans-boundary problems such as this are exactly the kind of issues that reemphasize the importance of collaboration among technical agencies in the OAS countries and among partners throughout the Hemisphere.

PAHO, IICA and other international, regional and national agencies have the necessary expertise that can provide leadership and technical assistance in surveillance, preparation and response. Therefore I believe that there is a responsibility for the multilateral institutions to include this matter high on their agenda for discussion and action.

A holistic and integrated approach

The new leadership at the OAS and the leadership of other inter-American organizations have now adopted a more holistic and integrated approach in the development of strategic policy.

Threats such as HIV/AIDS, natural disasters and avian influenza must, of necessity, be priorities when crafting national and hemispheric agendas. In this regard, we support the development of integrated national plans and a hemispheric strategy for an influenza pandemic control, preparedness and response.

We encourage the strengthening of country and regional capacity in surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, and alert and response systems. I believe that in order to confront challenges effectively, we must work together to share information, expertise, capacity and resources.

The development of strong partnerships, information exchange, coordinated strategies and actions are essential tools for confronting and containing the threat of an influenza pandemic, and protecting the lives, livelihoods and future of the nations and peoples of the Americas.

At the same time, while a pro-active and integrated approach is critical if we are to effectively contain the potential of a pandemic, I must also stress the need for policy makers not to become distracted by diverting all attention to a pandemic.

We need to continue our vigilance and actions against existing situations and threats: HIV/AIDS, natural disasters, malaria, malnutrition and others, many millions of the global population suffer and ultimately die from these diseases. These are threats to the multi-dimensional security and stability of the region.

Recognizing, for example, that health and food security are fundamental for sustained social and economic development, let me just focus briefly on one element of the population and show the need for an integrated approach to dealing with an influenza pandemic such as outbreak of the avian influenza in the Americas.

It is not difficult to imagine the effect of such a pandemic on vulnerable rural populations, including indigenous peoples, many of who live and survive off subsistence farming and have little or no access to health and other human services and information. However, one must also consider the impact of such a pandemic on areas of economy such as eco-tourism and agriculture resulting from such a pandemic or any other disaster affecting the rural areas.

In this regard, it is important to note the change in the thinking at international organizations such as the World Bank in a shift of bias towards rural development. The recent IICA publication “More than Food on the Table: Agriculture’s True Contribution to the Economy” states:

“…agriculture’s performance and its contributions to our countries’ economic development have traditionally been undervalued, since it is measured using information about harvest and sale of raw materials, mainly cops and livestock….

To properly measure agriculture’s performance and contribution, account must be taken of its effects on the distribution of income among rural and urban household, wage earners and owners. This is key to evaluating its impact on poverty alleviation strategies and, in particular, on the livelihood of rural dwellers.”

When we take into account the real contribution of the agricultural sector, then we can better envisage the devastation that can be caused if we do not effectively contain Avian Flu.

An expanded approach

But we must also look beyond pandemics for experiences and successful approaches in dealing with such problems.

I call to your memory, as one outstanding example, the very successful strategies to confront and minimize, on a global level, the anticipated disastrous effects on businesses and the lives of ordinary citizens of the dreaded Y2K. Can we also not apply the lessons from such “best practices” to the application of pro-activeness and preparation, shared technical expertise, cooperation among countries and between government and the private sector to the situation of a pandemic?

We also know now, that if early warning mechanisms would have been in place, when South East Asia was hit by the December 2004 tsunami, the impact in terms of loss of life and destruction would not have been so severe.

Also, we know from experience that communication is critical. The recent series of high-level meetings on avian influenza and human pandemic influenza have created public awareness and launched a dialogue process aimed at creating a shared agenda. It has also served to sensitize legislators and policy makers to this issue. This meeting is one step in bringing together the expertise and resources of the inter-American system to jointly address this threat. The media must also be critical partners in sharing information and focusing attention on this issue.

But to go even further, I believe that we must also incorporate and apply the lessons learned, the strategic thinking, the sense of importance and of urgency, and yes, even share the resources used in the development of national and regional plans for natural disasters such hurricanes, floods and earthquakes in the development of plans and strategies for preventing or reducing the effects of an influenza pandemic.

The importance of preventing natural and other disasters cannot be too forcefully stated. At the Eleventh Lecture of the OAS Lecture Series, Jeffrey Sachs, renowned development economist, listed natural upheavals as one of three major factors impeding the hemisphere’s economic development and growth.

Such an integrated and holistic approach is advisable not just for reasons of effective and efficient use of scarce human and financial resources, but also because these are not unrelated events and there is a real possibility of the occurrence of both at the same time. If we believe that the effects of an influenza pandemic would be disastrous to the economic, social and political stability and development of the region--especially to the smaller economies in the Caribbean, Central America and South America—then we must also recognize and admit that the simultaneous occurrence of a natural event such as a hurricane would create a disaster of unfathomable proportions to these countries.

In closing, I want to briefly review what I see as the roles of the Organization of American States in matters of natural and other disasters.

1. To provide the political context in the Inter-American system within which to raise the policy profile of and attention to natural and other disasters, including pandemics.

2. To foster and to support collaboration among different organizations involved in different aspects of natural and other disasters. In this connection, I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to publicly support and praise of the work of CSIS and PAHO and all other organizations and agencies involved in the organization of the conference; and

3. To continue the work at the project and policy level and the national and regional levels. In this regard I once again urge all member states and countries of the region to act aggressively and with a sense of urgency in the formulation of effective and efficient response national and regional plans to the event of an influenza pandemic in the Americas.

I would like to once again thank CSIS and PAHO for organizing this event, and express my appreciation to the other national and multilateral agencies that are participating in today’s forum.

I believe that with collaboration such as this, we can effectively confront threats and work together to build a stable, secure and prosperous Western Hemisphere of nations. I want to assure you that the Organization of American States will continue to be trusted partner in all these efforts.