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USAID Launches Emerging Pandemic Threats Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2009
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov
Washington, D.C. - The United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) is launching an Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program that builds on
the successes of the Agency's long-standing programs in disease surveillance,
training, and outbreak response, particularly those addressing avian and
pandemic influenza. The focus of the EPT program is to pre-empt or combat, at
their source, newly emerging diseases of animal origin that could threaten
human health.
The speed with which diseases of animal origin that pose a risk to humans -
including HIV/AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H5N1 avian
influenza, and the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus - can emerge and spread across the
increasingly interconnected globe presents enormous public health, economic,
and development concerns. This threat underscores the need for a comprehensive,
proactive approach that draws on a wide array of technical resources to build
sound detection and response capacity. USAID's EPT program will focus resources
on detecting dangerous pathogens at an early stage, building appropriate
laboratory capacity to support surveillance, responding in an appropriate and
timely manner, strengthening national and local response capacities, and
educating at-risk populations on how to prevent exposure to these dangerous
pathogens. The EPT program is being managed by USAID with technical support
from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the United States Department of Agriculture.
The EPT program is a comprehensive and interconnected intervention package that
will be implemented through five projects, each requiring specific technical
skill sets, but which will work harmoniously together to provide seamless
technical assistance and expertise in the field. The five projects in the EPT
program are as follows:
PREDICT: USAID has awarded a five-year cooperative agreement to a constellation
of leading experts in wildlife surveillance including University of California
Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Wildlife
Trust, The Smithsonian Institute, and Global Viral Forecasting, Inc. to monitor
for and increase the local capacity in "geographic hot spots" to identify the
emergence of new infectious diseases in high-risk wildlife such as bats,
rodents, and non-human primates that could pose a major threat to human health.
This award builds on our current monitoring of wild birds for the H5N1
influenza virus to more broadly address the role played by wildlife in
facilitating the emergence and spread of new disease threats.
RESPOND: USAID has awarded a five-year cooperative agreement to a coalition of
technical resources including Development Alternatives, Inc., University of
Minnesota, Tufts University, Training and Resources Group, and Ecology and
Environment, Inc. to strengthen the human capacity of countries to identify and
respond to outbreaks of newly emergent diseases in a timely and sustainable
manner. This project will focus on the development of outbreak investigation
and response training that merges animal and human health dynamics into a
comprehensive capacity for disease detection and control. This agreement builds
on over 30 years of USAID experience in building long-term capacities in health
training through twinning U.S. and local academic institutions.
IDENTIFY: USAID is working with the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO), U.N.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal
Health (OIE) through existing grants to support the development of laboratory
networks and strengthened diagnostic capacities in the "geographic hot spots"
for new emergent diseases.
PREVENT: USAID has awarded a five-year cooperative agreement to The Academy for
Educational Development and Global Viral Forecasting, Inc. to build an
effective behavior change communication response to zoonotic diseases, support
efforts to characterize "high-risk" practices that increase the potential for
new disease threats from wildlife or wildlife products to spread and infect
people, and formulate behavior change and/or communication strategies and
interventions that meet the challenges posed by the emergence of a new
infectious disease. This award builds on ongoing behavior change and
communications efforts by USAID to prevent H5N1 transmission.
PREPARE: USAID has awarded a three-year cooperative agreement to International
Medical Corps to provide technical support for simulations and field tests of
national, regional, and local pandemic preparedness plans to ensure that
countries have the capacity to implement response plans effectively during
pandemic events.
For more information about USAID, please visit www.usaid.gov.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2009
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov
Washington, D.C. - The United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) is launching an Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program that builds on
the successes of the Agency's long-standing programs in disease surveillance,
training, and outbreak response, particularly those addressing avian and
pandemic influenza. The focus of the EPT program is to pre-empt or combat, at
their source, newly emerging diseases of animal origin that could threaten
human health.
The speed with which diseases of animal origin that pose a risk to humans -
including HIV/AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H5N1 avian
influenza, and the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus - can emerge and spread across the
increasingly interconnected globe presents enormous public health, economic,
and development concerns. This threat underscores the need for a comprehensive,
proactive approach that draws on a wide array of technical resources to build
sound detection and response capacity. USAID's EPT program will focus resources
on detecting dangerous pathogens at an early stage, building appropriate
laboratory capacity to support surveillance, responding in an appropriate and
timely manner, strengthening national and local response capacities, and
educating at-risk populations on how to prevent exposure to these dangerous
pathogens. The EPT program is being managed by USAID with technical support
from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the United States Department of Agriculture.
The EPT program is a comprehensive and interconnected intervention package that
will be implemented through five projects, each requiring specific technical
skill sets, but which will work harmoniously together to provide seamless
technical assistance and expertise in the field. The five projects in the EPT
program are as follows:
PREDICT: USAID has awarded a five-year cooperative agreement to a constellation
of leading experts in wildlife surveillance including University of California
Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Wildlife
Trust, The Smithsonian Institute, and Global Viral Forecasting, Inc. to monitor
for and increase the local capacity in "geographic hot spots" to identify the
emergence of new infectious diseases in high-risk wildlife such as bats,
rodents, and non-human primates that could pose a major threat to human health.
This award builds on our current monitoring of wild birds for the H5N1
influenza virus to more broadly address the role played by wildlife in
facilitating the emergence and spread of new disease threats.
RESPOND: USAID has awarded a five-year cooperative agreement to a coalition of
technical resources including Development Alternatives, Inc., University of
Minnesota, Tufts University, Training and Resources Group, and Ecology and
Environment, Inc. to strengthen the human capacity of countries to identify and
respond to outbreaks of newly emergent diseases in a timely and sustainable
manner. This project will focus on the development of outbreak investigation
and response training that merges animal and human health dynamics into a
comprehensive capacity for disease detection and control. This agreement builds
on over 30 years of USAID experience in building long-term capacities in health
training through twinning U.S. and local academic institutions.
IDENTIFY: USAID is working with the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO), U.N.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal
Health (OIE) through existing grants to support the development of laboratory
networks and strengthened diagnostic capacities in the "geographic hot spots"
for new emergent diseases.
PREVENT: USAID has awarded a five-year cooperative agreement to The Academy for
Educational Development and Global Viral Forecasting, Inc. to build an
effective behavior change communication response to zoonotic diseases, support
efforts to characterize "high-risk" practices that increase the potential for
new disease threats from wildlife or wildlife products to spread and infect
people, and formulate behavior change and/or communication strategies and
interventions that meet the challenges posed by the emergence of a new
infectious disease. This award builds on ongoing behavior change and
communications efforts by USAID to prevent H5N1 transmission.
PREPARE: USAID has awarded a three-year cooperative agreement to International
Medical Corps to provide technical support for simulations and field tests of
national, regional, and local pandemic preparedness plans to ensure that
countries have the capacity to implement response plans effectively during
pandemic events.
For more information about USAID, please visit www.usaid.gov.
The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development,
have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50
years.
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