North American Countries Update Plan to Strengthen Emergency Preparedness for Pandemic Flu

During the recent North American Leaders’ Summit, President Barack Obama, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper jointly released an updated plan, North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza, which provides a framework for the health, agriculture, security, and foreign affairs sectors of all three countries to collaborate on pandemic preparedness and response. The plan builds on the 2007 North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza and is the culmination of efforts begun at the 2009 North American Leaders’ Summit, in which leaders from the three countries committed to building on the lessons learned from the H1N1 influenza pandemic.