The profound social and economic damage of Covid-19 highlight flaws in the systems we have in place to prepare for and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Beth Thompson, Head of UK & EU Policy at Wellcome, explores new recommendations about how we could avoid the next pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the vital role that research and innovation play in protecting the world from the deadliest infectious diseases. But it has also shown the lack of funding for solutions such as tests, treatments and vaccines to be equitably developed and shared.

Even now, with health services collapsing around the world, we’re still waiting for G7 and G20 countries to unite and support a global response.

At the start of the year, the Italian Government, as President of the G20, established an expert panel to recommend how to organise and mobilise financing for future global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response(opens in a new tab).

Today the panel launched their recommendations in its report A Global Deal for Our Pandemic Age(opens in a new tab). This calls on the international community not to wait for Covid-19 to be over to invest properly in pandemic preparedness, as the threat of more frequent pandemics is already here.

Many of the panel’s recommendations focus on optimising and mobilising existing approaches and institutions. While these may look straightforward, together they would transform the world’s vulnerability to pandemics.

Read the full article about preparing for the next pandemic by Beth Thompson at Wellcome.