Influenza Pandemic: Gaps in Pandemic Planning and Preparedness Need to Be Addressed

Abstract

As the current H1N1 outbreak underscores, an influenza pandemic remains a real threat to our nation. Over the past 3 years, GAO conducted a body of work, consisting of 12 reports and 4 testimonies, to help the nation better prepare for a possible pandemic. In February 2009, GAOsynthesized the results of most of this work and, in June 2009, GAO issued an additional report on agency accountability for protecting the federal workforce in the event of a pandemic. GAO's work points out that while a number of actions have been taken to plan for a pandemic, including developing a national strategy and implementation plan, many gaps in pandemic planning and preparedness still remain. This statement covers six thematic areas: (1) leadership, authority, and coordination; (2) detecting threats and managing risks; (3) planning,training, and exercising; (4) capacity to respond and recover; (5) information sharing and communication; and (6) performance and accountability.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 29, 2009
Accession Number
AD1181264

Entities

People

  • Bernice Steinhardt

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Emergency Response
  • Governments
  • Health
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Homeland Security
  • Infection Control
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Local Governments
  • Management Personnel
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Governments
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Health
  • Security
  • State Governments
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Urban Areas

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Infectious Disease/Epidemiology
  • Strategic Security Studies