Newdelhi: The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), an independent entity tasked with evaluating the state of global pandemic preparedness and health emergency response, has sounded a cautionary note. It suggests that the advances made in strengthening preparedness post the Covid-19 pandemic are precarious, and the world’s capability to manage potential new pandemic threats remains insufficient.
Formed in 2018 on the advice of a high-level panel focusing on the global response to health crises, the GPMB has the mission of monitoring and assessing the world’s readiness to handle health crises. It further advocates for measures aimed at reducing the risks and impacts of pandemics and other health emergencies.
The recently unveiled GPMB report titled “A Fragile State of Preparedness” outlines a series of weaknesses in crucial aspects of preparedness in the aftermath of Covid-19. It emphasizes that even in areas where progress is visible, it remains vulnerable and urgently requires reinforcement.
The GPMB has outlined four pivotal priorities to address these weaknesses in global preparedness:
1. Strengthening independent and multisectoral monitoring and accountability.
2. Overhauling the global financing system to achieve more equitable and robust research and development and supply chains.
3. Enhancing multisectoral, multistakeholder engagement.
4. Reforming the WHO Pandemic Agreement and integrating evidence-based monitoring effectively into the governance of health emergencies.
Financing for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPPR) is another area of concern, with the GPMB urging leaders to enhance the global financing system. This would encompass addressing immediate funding deficits, reforming the system to promote increased national investments, and reinforcing international financing via new funding methods and sources. The report suggests a scaling up of funding and an increase in the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies to meet the initial pandemic Day Zero requirements, totaling $500 million.
Global research and development (R&D) resources have also come under scrutiny, with the GPMB highlighting an imbalance in R&D capacity concentrated within a limited number of countries and regions. This disparity was evident in the unequal access to Covid-19 vaccines. The report calls for a strengthening of regional capabilities in R&D, manufacturing, and supply to address the inequities in global access to medical countermeasures.
Lastly, the report acknowledges that pandemics extend beyond health considerations, requiring better coordination across various sectors and levels of society. A multisectoral, multistakeholder approach is proposed to bring together all relevant stakeholders and sectors involved in PPPR. Such an approach aims to foster a more integrated and coherent response to pandemics and health emergencies.
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, GPMB co-chair and former president of Croatia, commented on the report’s launch, noting, “It is clear that a lack of trust at every level, both between and within countries, remains a significant obstacle to preparedness. We call on leaders to move past these divisions and forge a new path based on a shared recognition that our future safety depends on meaningful reform and the highest level of political commitment to health emergency preparedness.”
