It has been two years since COVID-19 took the world by storm, altering life as we know it. Prior to its emergence, the Global Health Security Index noted that no country was fully prepared to tackle a pandemic. This unpreparedness, however, was not due to a lack of scientific or technological progress. Rather, it was a result of our collective failure to adapt each nation’s economic and policy systems to reap the full benefits of these tools, a step that the editors of “Breakthrough,” Homi Kharas, John McArthur, and Izumi Ohno, suggest is critical for success. In our book chapter, we describe not only the technologies but also the policy and economic needs that must be met to achieve what we define as success—baseline pandemic preparedness in every nation—by 2030.

Two major technological breakthroughs have powered our global response to COVID-19. First, advances in biomedical and genomic technologies have allowed us to detect and characterize viruses like SARS-CoV-2, and develop countermeasures like vaccines and therapies with unprecedented speed. Second, powerful new information technologies and systems have allowed us to collect data in real-time, conduct viral surveillance, and coordinate local, national, and regional health systems. While scientists are constantly working to optimize and expand this arsenal, the technologies we have today show great promise for the future of global health.

But the technology alone is not enough. In our chapter, we note three foundational elements necessary for the successful implementation and scale-up of each technological breakthrough. They include regular coordination and collaboration between scientists, public health, and global leaders; equity and community empowerment; and sustainable financing. In the context of COVID-19, many nations have failed to lay this groundwork, leading to a response marked by inequity and frustration.

Read the full article about tech innovation for public health by Yolanda Botti-Lodovico at Brookings.