Swine flu pandemic declaration by WHO being investigated by experts

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMar 14 2011

Experts who have been investigating the World Health Organization’s management of the response to the H1N1 pandemic have announced that they found no evidence that the drug industry influenced the agency’s decision making over how to handle the virus. In their draft report that panel of independent experts did acknowledge that the WHO failed to understand and respond to conflicts of interest among experts on its advisory Emergency Committee, which had previously acknowledged their pharmaceutical industry ties.

In conclusion they wrote that the WHO remains ill-prepared to face a similar public health crisis brought on by a significant influenza pandemic. In June 2009, the WHO declared that the world was facing its first influenza pandemic in 40 years, caused by the H1N1 virus. In August 2010, it declared the pandemic over, stating that the global outbreak was less severe than was first believed. This had fuelled controversies that WHO was unduly influenced by the interests of pharmaceutical companies that stood to gain financially from the preparations involved in fighting a global outbreak and sparked the investigation.

The panel of 27 experts headed by American flu expert Dr. Harvey Fineberg said that those who criticized the WHO at the time have ignored the agency’s core mission to prevent disease and save lives. In the 33 page report the panel writes, “WHO performed well in many ways during the pandemic and confronted systemic difficulties and demonstrated some shortcomings… The committee found no evidence of malfeasance… As far as the Review Committee can determine, no critic of WHO has produced any direct evidence of commercial influence on decision-making.” The panel will convene its last meeting at the end of March and submit its report to the WHO’s annual ministerial meeting in May.

The panel suggested a scale of three phases to measure the severity of a pandemic, as opposed to the current six phase system. The panel also urged the creation of a “global reserve corps” of experts for emergencies, and a $100 million fund for their use. It urged vaccine makers to reserve 10 percent of their production for poor countries.

The panel also criticized the WHO bureaucracy for preventing the timely distribution of donated vaccines to poorer countries. It said, “The world is ill-prepared to respond to a severe influenza pandemic or to any similarly global, sustained and threatening public health emergency.” The panel did offer some praise. With help from national health agencies like those of the United States and Canada, the WHO identified the virus quickly and got seed strains to vaccine makers. It also sent experts to countries that asked for help.

The WHO will not respond to the report until the final version is released in May at the annual assembly of the world’s health ministers, a spokeswoman for the agency said. Under W.H.O. rules, the draft had to be made public early to invite comment in time for the final draft.