Communicable diseases are currently the leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide, disproportionately affecting resource-poor settings. Pandemic influenza would add to already unacceptable levels of morbidity and mortality from diarrhoea, malaria, pneumonia, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, in addition to causing high maternal and neonatal death rates. This guideline provide strategies for prevention and treatment, at the community and household levels, of the most likely contributors to mortality from common illnesses during an influenza pandemic and To provide recommendations to support a minimum level of continuity for priority public health programmes during a pandemic. These guidelines are designed primarily for community-level programming in resource-poor settings (urban, semi-urban and rural) but are applicable to a wide range of situations.