THE Government has bemoaned the speedy rate at which the H1N1 pandemic is spreading and called for concerted efforts by various stakeholders in mitigating the effects of the pandemic on the populace.

Speaking when he officially opened the H1N1 pandemic readiness simulation training in Lusaka yesterday, Office of the Vice-President Permanent Secretary, Davies Sampa said the pandemic was a worrying phenomenon globally.

He said it was imperative that the Zambian Government, its cooperating partners and other citizens worked together to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

"The death toll arising from the H1N1 has also continued to rise. More seriously, it is the uncertainty surrounding the magnitude and state of the virus that may be associated with the expected second wave of infections.

"H1N1 is not just a health or livestock hazard but has the potential to affect all key sectors of the economy such as food security and its related logistics," Mr Sampa said.

He said the Government was working with the cooperating partners and other stakeholders so that operational gaps in pandemic response were addressed.

Further, he anticipated that solutions to address deficiencies would be found through working together.

Mr Sampa said the Government was working with the cooperating partners and others in the spirit of Zambia's preparedness through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit.

He said the national disaster management policy promoted comprehensive activities aimed at reducing disasters among the citizens.

"One of the activities of the disaster preparedness is the development of evacuation and rescue plans, manuals and simulation exercises," Mr Sampa said.

Acting United Nations Systems resident coordinator, Pablo Recalde said the pandemic was a challenge to the rest of the world and it was, therefore, important that governments were adequately prepared to protect the citizens.

He said he was happy with the level of preparedness by the Zambian Government.

"We are extremely happy that we will deal with this pandemic in an organised approach. We are happy that Zambia has a disaster management capacity to deal with human and other threatening situations," Mr Recalde said.