We live in a highly interconnected world with many opportunities for new and dangerous pathogens to emerge. COVID-19 demonstrated how quickly a new pathogen can result in a global pandemic. New Zealand needs to be alert and prepared to respond to a future pandemic and to mitigate the potential impact on our health, way of life and livelihoods.
To support this, the Ministry of Health is working with partners across government to help New Zealand prepare for future pandemics.
This pandemic preparedness programme covers a range of initiatives from updating legislation to reviewing our reserve supply of medicine and equipment for emergencies.
This includes developing a Pandemic Strategic Framework, which will set the direction for New Zealand’s approach to pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
This work aligns with the Government’s new National Risk and Resilience Framework and objective in the Government Policy Statement on Health to ensure there is appropriate capacity, capability, and infrastructure in place to prevent and respond to future pandemics and other health security threats.
Pandemic Science Advisory Group
The Group was formed in 2025 to support the development of a new pandemic strategic framework to drive the all-of-government preparedness and response for a future pandemic.
The Group’s work is guided by an understanding that the next pandemic is unlikely to be the same as the last one and we need to use a range of pandemic scenarios to understand the potential consequences of different infectious disease threats.
Members of the Pandemic Science Advisory Group:
- Dr Ian Town (chair)
- Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen
- Sir Collin Tukuitonga
- Dr Caroline McElnay
- Dr Nicholas Jones
- Professor Michael Baker
- Professor Nigel French
- Professor David Murdoch
- Te Pora Thompson-Evans
Pandemic preparedness actions
New Zealand Pandemic Plan (2024 update)
In July 2024, the Ministry of Health published an interim update to the New Zealand Pandemic Plan. This replaces the previous national pandemic plan, the New Zealand Influenza Pandemic Plan (2nd edition, 2017).
The plan will be replaced with the Pandemic Strategic Framework once this is complete.
Pandemic Strategic Framework
To guide our approach to future pandemics, the Ministry of Health is developing a new Pandemic Strategic Framework. The framework will:
- provide system-level leadership for all-of-government pandemic preparedness
- support the development of more detailed operational plans to guide preparedness and response
- support a shared understanding of potential pandemic scenarios and the drivers of pandemic risk
- set out options for managing pandemic threats and the range of measures to reduce the impact on human health, society and the economy
- outline the core capabilities, such as skills and resources, required for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response
- set out the roles and responsibilities for different stages of a pandemic response
- establish ways to monitor the pandemic readiness system.
Implementing the Public Health Surveillance Strategy
A critical element of pandemic preparedness is ensuring we have a world class public health surveillance system to help detect pathogens that could lead to a future pandemic.
The Public Health Surveillance Strategy 2025-2030 is designed to strengthen our public health surveillance system to better support increased life expectancy with quality of life for New Zealanders.
Published in February 2025, the strategy identifies four strategic directions. These include:
- strengthening governance, leadership, and coordination
- focussing on the things that matter
- responding to emerging challenges and opportunities
- continuously improving.
Pandemic legislative review
Reviewing our health legislation to ensure it remains fit for purpose for a future pandemic. More information can be found on Pandemic legislation.
Global pandemic preparedness
Engaging with international efforts to strengthen global pandemic preparedness.
National reserve supply review
Ensuring we are maintaining a national reserve supply of critical items to support health services respond to a major emergency, such as a pandemic.
Strategic approach to health at the border
Ensuring health functions are considered and integrated across all border functions to support a border that is smart, protects people and keeps New Zealand globally connected. More information can be found at Health at the border.
