"As an independent monitoring and advocacy body, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (hereafter referred to as the Board or GPMB) urges political action to prepare for and mitigate the effects of global health emergencies. Co-convened in May 2018 by the World Bank Group and the World Health Organization, the Board builds on the work of the Global Health Crises Task Force and Panel, created by the United Nations Secretary-General in the wake of the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic...
The goals of the Board are to:
- assess the world’s ability to protect itself from health emergencies
- identify critical gaps to preparedness across multiple perspectives;
- advocate for preparedness activities with national and international leaders and decision-makers."
"Preparing for the worst: a rapidly spreading, lethal respiratory pathogen pandemic
High-impact respiratory pathogens, such as an especially deadly strain of influenza, pose particular global risk in the modern age. The pathogens are spread via respiratory droplets; they can infect a large number of people very quickly, and with today's transportation infrastructure, move rapidly across multiple geographies.
In addition to a greater risk of pandemics from natural pathogens, scientific developments allow for disease-causing microorganisms to be engineered or re-created in laboratories. Should countries, terrorist groups, or scientifically advanced individuals create or obtain and then use biological weapons that have the characteristics of a novel, high-impact, respiratory pathogen, the consequences could be as severe as, or even greater, than those of a natural epidemic, as could an accidental release of epidemic-prone microorganisms...
Persistent challenges and obstacles
Preparedness and response systems and capabilities for disease outbreaks are not sufficient to deal with the enormous impact, rapid spread and shock to health, social and economic systems of a highly lethal pandemic, whether natural, accidental or deliberately released. There is insufficient R&D investment and planning for innovative vaccine development and manufacture, broad-spectrum antivirals, appropriate nonpharmaceutical interventions, targeted therapeutics (including monoclonal antibodies), systems for sharing sequences of any new pathogen, and means for equitably sharing limited medical countermeasures across countries. In addition, such a pandemic requires advance planning across multiple sectors (financial, security, transportation, logistics, global communications and industry), for reinforcing social cohesion and for risk communication. Epidemic control costs would completely overwhelm the current financing arrangements for emergency response.
Required actions
Countries, donors and multilateral institutions must be prepared for the worst: A rapidly spreading pandemic due to a lethal respiratory pathogen (whether naturally emergent or accidentally or deliberately released) poses additional preparedness requirements. Donors and multilateral institutions must ensure adequate investment in development of innovative vaccine and therapeutics, surge manufacturing capacity, broad-spectrum antivirals and appropriate non-pharmaceutical interventions. All countries must develop a system for immediately sharing sequences of any new pathogen for public health purposes, along with the means to share limited medical countermeasures across countries.
Progress indicator(s) by September 2020
- Donors and countries commit and identify timelines for: financing and development of a universal influenza vaccine, broad-spectrum antivirals and targeted therapeutics. WHO and its Member States develop options for standard procedures and timelines for sharing of sequence data, specimens and medical countermeasures for pathogens other than influenza.
- Donors, countries and multilateral institutions develop a multiyear plan and approach for strengthening R&D research capacity, in advance of and during an epidemic.
- WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, academic and other partners identify strategies for increasing capacity and integration of social science approaches and researchers across the entire preparedness/response continuum."
pp. 42-43 - Members of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board include:
- Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NAIAD)
- Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust (UK).
- George F. Gao, Director-General of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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