ISLAMABAD: A global body has warned that the fragile progress to strengthen preparedness made in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic is at risk, and the world’s capacity to deal with a potential new pandemic threat remains inadequate.

The warning has been issued by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), an independent body responsible for assessing the state of the world’s preparedness for pandemics and other health emergencies.

According to worldometers, 697,096,916 cases and 6,932,519 deaths have been reported because of the coronavirus since the beginning of Covid-19 in December 2019. Most number of cases have been reported in US i.e. 109,066,255 and Pakistan is ranked at 53rd number with 1,581,910 cases and 30,664 deaths.

The GPMB was established in 2018 following the recommendation of a high-level panel on the global response to health crises.

Global Preparedness Monitoring Board highlights weaknesses in critical areas of preparedness in wake of Covid-19

The GPMB monitors and reports on the state of the world’s preparedness for health crises, and advocates at the highest level for actions to reduce the risk and impact of pandemics and other health emergencies.

The GPMB report titled, “A Fragile State of Preparedness”, launched in Geneva on Monday, highlights significant weaknesses or declining capacities in several critical areas of preparedness. Where there are signs of improvement, they are fragile, and in urgent need of reinforcement, the GPMB report says.

The GPMB has laid out four key priorities to repair the weaknesses in global preparedness including strengthen independent and multisectoral monitoring and accountability, reform the global financing system achieve more equitable and robust research and development and supply chains; and enhance multisectoral, multistakeholder engagement.

The report suggests that evidence-based monitoring, including independent monitoring, is essential to increase effectiveness, ensure accountability, and build trust. Monitoring needs to be effectively integrated into the governance of health emergencies, especially the WHO Pandemic Agreement.

Financing

The GPMB has urged leaders to strengthen the global financing system for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) by addressing urgent funding gaps and reforming the system to enable greater national investments and to bolster international financing through new modalities and sources of financing.

There needs to be a scale-up in funding and the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies should be increased to meet pandemic Day Zero needs of US$500 million.

Robust and equitable R&D and supply chains

The report says that globally research and development (R&D) capacity is concentrated in a few countries and regions.

In the report, the GPMB notes that this imbalance played out in unequal access to Covid-19 vaccines. Strengthening regional capacities for R&D, manufacturing and supply is needed to address the inequities in global access to medical countermeasures.

Multisectoral, multistakeholder engagement

The report states that pandemics are not just about health. Currently, coordination across sectors and levels of society is weak. A multisectoral, multistakeholder approach is needed to bring together all stakeholders and sectors involved in PPPR, and to support a more integrated and coherent response to pandemics and health emergencies.

Commenting on the launch of the report, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, GPMB co-chair and former president of Croatia, said: “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.”

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2023