United Nations Radio

Zimbabwe is the first country to apply a public health plan designed to better protect countries against the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic.

Zimbabweans farming

The plan, known as the "Call to Action," lists key measures countries can take to reduce the threat posed by the pandemic. These include identifying high-risk groups and vulnerable populations for delivering treatment and reducing transmission.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Zimbabwe was chosen to inaugurate the Call to Action because of the experiences faced, and lessons learned, from a recent cholera outbreak which killed 4,000 people and infected thousands more.

The Call to Action is an initiative of the WHO, UNICEF, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the UN Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

More than 50 representatives from Zimbabwe's Health and Child Welfare ministries attended a two-day workshop in the capital, Harare, this week where the plan was detailed.

Dianne Penn, United Nations Radio
(duration: 1'09")