ESWI: A PARTNERSHIP

ESWI is a partnership organisation of not-for-profit organisations, institute, public health authorities and the pharmaceutical sector involved in influenza (manufacturers of influenza vaccines and antiviral drugs). This partnership has the specific aim to prevent premature mortality, morbidity, and disability caused by influenza, by giving special attention to policies and behavioural change.

Partnership organisations, like ESWI, are established to meet specific objectives and to undertake projects to address problems that neither partner could tackle adequately on its own. A successful long-term partnership is built on common grounds. In the case of ESWI, this common ground is the social concern to reduce the impact of epidemic and pandemic influenza in Europe.

ESWI is an organisation with a clear mission: to reduce the number of influenza victims in Europe. ESWI shares this aim with WHO. As a tool to realize this mission, WHO and ESWI aim to enhance vaccination coverage of people at high risk of getting severe complications when infected with influenza (mainly the elderly and the chronically ill). As a matter of fact, the World Health Assembly urged Member States to increase vaccination coverage of all people at high risk and to aim at a vaccination coverage rate in elderly people of at least 75%.