Avian and pandemic influenza

Introduction

Effective communication informs and empowers people to respond appropriately to a crisis. The rapidly spreading outbreaks of Avian Influenza (bird flu) among wild and domestic birds and the rare but increasing cases of bird flu among people are alarming. If the H5N1 virus changes into a human strain, it would make it possible for person to person transmission and trigger a human flu pandemic. The world must prepare for such a pandemic.

A pandemic would affect all populations regardless of national boundaries or socio-economic status. Every aspect of children’s lives could be seriously threatened. UNICEF is putting its extensive communication expertise and our global on-the-ground presence to the service of national governments and partners to control bird flu and to prepare for a possible pandemic.

UNICEF’s actions are part of a coherent UN system response. What we do is guided by the technical agencies for animal and human health — the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UN System Influenza Coordinator (UNSIC). UNICEF is focusing on communication and other supportive measures that inform educate and enable families and communities to protect themselves from illness and death caused by bird flu or its consequences.

A leaflet from Bosnia and Herzegovina [PDF]