Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century, reached all parts of the world within a year, causing epidemics of varying magnitude. During the pandemic period, the World Health Organization (WHO) received reports of over 18 000 laboratory-confirmed deaths due to infection with the virus; however, the actual death toll is likely to have been much higher. The overall goal for this document to contribute to improved clinical management of influenza and other ARI at all levels of health care during community transmission of pandemic influenza. The specific objectives are review lessons learnt for the diagnosis and management of influenza from settings where resources are limited; list key challenges of implementing clinical guidance in resource-limited settings, and use this information for the further development of country-specific action items, to improve clinical management of influenza at all or at focused levels of health care; introduce WHO information materials and training curricula to the participants, and assess whether any of these can fit into the action items identified by the above-mentioned exercise and engage donors and funding agencies to support the countries through implementation of the action items or provision of resources.