Review period: 30 July – 20 August 2025
Deadline for comments: 20 August 2025, 23:59 CEST
Influenza remains a major global health challenge. Since the last update in 2017, new scientific evidence and insights gained from the COVID-19 pandemic have underscored the need to reassess influenza research priorities. The 2024 update of the World Health Organization (WHO) Public Health Research Agenda for Influenza aims to guide global efforts over the next 5–10 years by identifying high-priority research areas to strengthen surveillance, reduce the burden of seasonal outbreaks, and mitigate the risk and impact of pandemics.
The updated agenda introduces a restructured framework organized into six thematic research streams, including a new stream on communication sciences. The prioritization of research areas was made through expert working groups informed by systematic literature reviews and a rigorous assessment of current knowledge gaps and public health needs.
WHO invites public health experts, researchers, partners, and interested stakeholders to review and provide comments on the revised agenda. Your feedback will help ensure the agenda is scientifically robust, operationally relevant, and aligned with current global public health research needs, to refine and finalize the document ahead of its official publication.
How to submit comments
The call for Public Comment opens from 30 July to 20 August 2025.
You can provide input by completing the online survey accessible here.
For more detailed feedback, you may download the draft document, add comments directly in the file, and send it by email to yawu@who.int with the subject line: "Public comment submission – Public health research agenda for influenza."
Upon closure of the public call, all comments will be reviewed by the WHO Global Influenza Programme as part of the final revision process.
Purpose
Introduction of the WHO Public Health Research Agenda for Influenza (2024 Update)
The 2024 update of the WHO Public Health Research Agenda for Influenza sets out to identify high-priority research areas for the next 5–10 years that can help reduce the global burden of seasonal influenza and strengthen pandemic preparedness. Building on the 2009 and 2017 versions, this update integrates recent scientific advances and incorporates lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, while responding to the growing threat of zoonotic viruses and the need for improved surveillance, vaccines, and communication strategies.
Through a structured and expert-driven process, the agenda introduces a revised framework of six interconnected research streams that better reflect current scientific and public health priorities. It serves as a strategic tool for researchers, public health professionals, funders, and policymakers—fostering innovation, guiding collaboration, and enhancing global influenza response and preparedness.
Intended audience
The WHO Public Health Research Agenda for Influenza (2024 update) is intended for a wide range of stakeholders involved in advancing global influenza preparedness. This includes researchers, public health professionals, and clinicians working on influenza surveillance, prevention, and clinical management. Policy-makers and health authorities may use the agenda to shape strategic planning at national and international levels, while donors and funding organizations are encouraged to align investments with the agenda’s priority research areas. More broadly, the agenda provides a framework to guide coordinated, evidence-based public health action worldwide.