HQ Team
October 14, 2024: Seventeen dangerous disease outbreaks, such as the Marburg virus and the latest strain of avian influenza this year, have increased the likelihood of new pandemics, and global readiness remains inadequate, according to a World Health Organization report.
“The next pandemic won’t wait for us to perfect our systems,” said Joy Phumaphi, the WHO and the World Bank’s Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) Co-Chair, and former Minister of Health to Botswana.
“We must invest now in resilient and equitable primary healthcare systems to withstand the challenges of tomorrow,” she said.
The GPMB report highlighted 15 key parameters that were driving a plethora of risks. It was categorised into five distinct groups — social, technological, environmental, economic, and political.
The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board tracks the drivers of pandemic risk and oversees global preparedness, and its report was unveiled during the ongoing World Health Summit in Berlin.
‘New fault lines’
“Each new outbreak exposes fault lines in the existing pandemic prevention architecture and global readiness to respond to disease outbreaks,” according to a WHO statement.
The report underlined the urgency of understanding the global vulnerability to threats and calls for a radical reset of the collective approach to pandemic preparedness.
“Lack of trust between and within countries, inequity, intensive farming and the likelihood of human-to-animal crossover” were among the key threats outlined in the report. The report also identifies new risks outside of the traditional health factors.
Digital connectivity enabled scientists to sequence and share pathogen data quickly and tailor responses, according to the report. “However, this digital footprint leaves health systems and societies exposed.
Cyber-attacks have heightened biosecurity threats, and the rapid spread of misinformation increases the risk of a pandemic.”
‘Complex, interdependent factors’
Pandemics are shaped by “complex and interdependent factors” and it also stresses that willingness to build flexibility into the response, proactively protect society and invest in collaborative efforts can significantly reduce risk and enhance preparedness.
“To effectively protect themselves, all nations must strengthen their health systems, prioritize social protection, and ensure that essential health services are available to all communities, particularly the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
The Gross Domestic Product of a nation “alone is no measure of resilience to a pandemic.”
Strategies spanning across the human, animal, and environmental health interfaces, must be incorporated into pandemic preparedness.
The report calls for increased collaboration across sectors to mitigate risks associated with pandemics, recognizing that the health of one sector is intricately linked to the health of others.
‘Narrow window of opportunity’
“We have a narrow window of opportunity to rethink global preparedness: to assess risks that extend well beyond the health sector, and to address some of these far more proactively, in a way that is adapted to each context,” said Ms Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, GPMB Co-Chair and former President of Croatia.
“Vigilance, adaptability and collaboration must define our preparation now, so that is it baked-in to the response.”
Ensuring prevention and response plans are regularly reviewed and flexible enough to respond to all situations must take priority, according to the report.
‘Collective preparedness’
“The next pandemic will not follow the same path as COVID-19, lessons learned from that experience should guide but not define preparedness.”
Resilience in future health emergencies is contingent on investment in research and development, improved technology, equitable health infrastructure and an enhanced understanding of the dynamic nature of all pandemic risk drivers.
In today’s interconnected world, the global community must take collective responsibility for prevention and response to disease, rather than considering preparedness as an individual country or sector-level activity.
The GPMB is an independent monitoring and accountability body to ensure preparedness for global health crises. Co-convened by the Director-General of the World Health Organization and the President of the World Bank, the GPMB is comprised of globally recognized leaders and experts.
It is tasked with providing an independent and comprehensive appraisal for policymakers and the world about progress towards increased preparedness and response capacity for disease outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics.
