Policy Analysis - Influenza Pandemic Readiness and Response Plan

Introduction

1. I was to asked to conduct a policy analysis using in parts and/or in combination any of the following five approaches:

Contexts of policy making,
Discourse analysis,
Post-structural critique,
Critical policy sociology, and
Study guide questions.

2. The write-up is to be presented in the structure and style of articles found traditionally in academic journals.

3. I believe the final 5,000-word document would reveal the following:

Focused analysis in relation to a critical issue or question,

Review broad developments in the field to locate my analysis,

Clarify how I have approached my analysis, and

Present my analysis.

4. In this 300 to 800-word write-up, I will offer my initial thoughts, ideas and insights on a critical issue in question, which could be used for this activity.

Critical Issue in Question

5. Influenza, which is a seasonal epidemic, causes an average of 14.8 deaths per 100,000 Singaporeans or 600 deaths a year in Singapore. All over, the health authorities’ key concern is the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza, which maybe capable of mutating into a human influenza that could cause a pandemic that sweeps the world and reduces her population, like the 1918’s "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe", a global disaster that killed 20 to 40 million people in just 18 months.

6. The first case of human infection was reported in January 2004 in Vietnam and Thailand. Since then, Cambodia, China, Laos, Indonesia, Turkey, Azerbaijan Iraq, Egypt, and Nigeria had reported H5N1 related human infection and deaths, while Japan, Romania, Serbia, Albania, and Poland had reported avian influenza in poultry.

7. WHO is particularly worried about the situation in Asia. Given the nature of poultry farming, proximity of bird and human, and poor sanitation, countries in Asia could become hot beds for incubating the virus and promoting efficient human-to-human transmission beyond the family cluster,

8. In addition, the rise of the middle income in Asia, and the rural occupants attracted to the affluence of cities, make the scare of another flu pandemic a very clear and present danger.

9. In light of these social developments, the Ministry of Health, Singapore, produced an Influenza Pandemic Readiness and Response Plan that lays out the policies for reducing avian flu intrusion and containment in Singapore.

Richness in the Analysis

10. The 22-page document with its ten annexes introduce me to the government’s polices on surveillance, education, containment, management, and communication of the pandemic

11. The plan, together with it briefing notes and ministerial press releases, provide a rich backdrop for policy analysis. For example:

Contexts of policy making - context of influence, of policy text production, of carriage of policy from one context to another

There are strong nationalistic and economic undertones influencing the construction of the policy, and the experience gained from the SARS incident, which killed 33 in Singapore in 2003, could be seen in the plan.

Post-structural critique - 5 questions of 'What', 'How', 'Why', 'Why Now', and 'What Are the Consequences'

The relations between H5N1, avian flu and the human influenza pandemic are concerns of the health authorities worldwide, and my research in the past flu pandemics, like the 1918 Spanish Flu, indicates catastrophic political, social and economical impact worldwide once human-to-human transmissions are efficient.

This article was first written on 26 Mar 2007 but was not further developed.

Copyright 2007. Anthony Mok. All Rights Reserved.