News item | 03-06-2022 | 14:15
On the proposal of Minister Kuipers of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Council of Ministers has approved the establishment of a National Functionality Infectious Disease Control (LFI). This new organization will strengthen national control of infectious disease control during a pandemic.
Together with the GGDs and other parties, the LFI will better prepare the Netherlands for a future pandemic. The establishment of clear, national management ensures that a future crisis can be combated more effectively. For example, because the scaling up for testing and vaccination can be done more quickly.
The LFI is a national crisis organization that will do two things on behalf of the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport: firstly, prepare for a future pandemic. Secondly, the LFI will take on the operational management of large-scale infectious disease control. The fight against the current Covid-19 pandemic is still done by the existing organizations.
Minister Kuipers: “Central management and control in a national health crisis is important. That is one of the lessons we have learned in the current pandemic. That is why it is good that the LFI is being introduced now, so that the approach in the next crisis is smoother and more effective. I have noticed that there is a lot of support for this from all parties involved and that they also feel the urgency to make this a joint success.”
Structure
In the past period, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the GGDs have set the LFI in the works. The LFI is now being elaborated, established and housed at the RIVM. This is done in close collaboration with other parties from infectious disease control, other ministries, safety regions and municipalities.
At the end of this year, the LFI will start its preparatory role for a future pandemic. This means that she will get to work on scaling up operational matters very quickly in a future pandemic. Think of so-called pilot light contracts to be able to quickly deploy call centers or engage logistics services. And also a practice and training program and well-functioning ICT. From the middle of next year, the LFI can fulfill its guiding role in a possible future pandemic.
Pandemic Preparedness
The establishment of the LFI is part of the government’s approach to pandemic preparedness. This approach includes a series of measures to be better prepared for the next pandemic and to continuously raise the Dutch preparedness level to a higher level. One of the most important measures is to strengthen the GGDs. The LFI can only fulfill its role in combination with this enhanced infectious disease control at the GGDs. For example, sufficient capacity is needed (doctors and other professionals) and a reinforcement of the information provision and ICT infrastructure.