This health crisis communication project was based on the idea that - once adequately trained - personnel from national emergency and health services can use communication characterised by transparency and authority to reduce public panic, inspire confidence, and empower individuals to take appropriate action to minimise the impact of the pandemic. The in-person, 3-day learning symposium was held in various countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in an effort to provide senior government officials and spokespersons (selected by the relevant government agencies, in collaboration with UNICEF Country Offices and the World Health Organization, or WHO) with the opportunity to equip themselves with skills and strategies such as how to organise and coordinate relevant agencies. The symposium was participatory, with techniques used such as practical, one-on-one simulation of media relations during health emergency situations. A panel discussion with the media was the centrepiece of this learning process.

In addition to the involvement of media personnel, this initiative drew on WHO's experience with outbreak communication; since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), this agency has consolidated its knowledge and human resource capacity in the area of crisis communication. Organisers of the learning symposium drew on the WHO materials that emerged from this process, such as WHO Handbook for Journalists: Influenza Pandemic [pdf]. In addition, in each country-specific symposium, the involvement of WHO experts was sought whenever possible.

Health, Emergency.

This initiative was motivated by the belief that populations may panic if or when information about the first human-to-human case of avian influenza (or "pandemic influenza") is circulated. Organisers state that, in such a situation, responsible media management is crucial. UNICEF indicates that "Suitably planned public communication, including the ability to handle both national and international media relations professionally, is therefore an essential part of the preparation for a pandemic situation."

According to organisers, a dozen countries in the Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) have reported cases of avian influenza. In the Turkey outbreak, 4 children died; 3 children out of a total of 5 people infected died in Azerbaijan. UNICEF claims that "International health authorities believe that a pandemic will occur but they cannot say when. The globally agreed strategy, therefore, seeks to prevent and contain AI outbreaks, thereby hoping to delay a pandemic and allow the development of new human vaccines which could limit the consequences of pandemic influenza."