The Institute of Medicine, in response to a request from the Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS), convened a two-day workshop in April 2005 to engage in discussion expert research scientists and others on issues related to research and research gaps in preparing for pandemic influenza.
The Global Health Security Action Group (GHSAG) comprising the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and Mexico, announced their commitment to preparing for the next global influenza pandemic. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson stressed the importance of the global community working together to address pandemic flu and called on the organization to support other countries in this area. A resolution was introduced committing the GHSAG to a collaborative and complementary approach in continuing to work on pandemic influenza preparedness and to advance work in this area.
DHHS, as part of its commitment to the GHSAG resolution, asked the Institute of Medicine to convene a meeting of experts to discuss the current state of the art of research on pandemic influenza and to identify gaps in research. This meeting served as a first step of discussion towards a combined and coordinated research effort among DHHS agencies, other governmental agencies, international partners and the private sector.