Global measures to fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has reached more than $11 trillion, and counting, with future loss projected at $10 trillion, necessitating a collective response, according to a new report from an independent monitoring and accountability body which prepares for global health crises.

“No one is safe until all are safe,” warned the report, A World in Disorder, published by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, noting the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic continues to climb.

“Global preparedness is not simply the sum of national preparedness. A pandemic is, by definition, a global event and as such demands collective global action. The multilateral system exists to support that action. Where it is weak, it needs strengthening, not abandoning. The world of pandemic preparedness is already complex. It needs consolidation, not further fragmentation.”

Collective failure

The new report criticized the global COVID-19 response, calling it “a collective failure to take pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response seriously and prioritize it accordingly”.

“The world cannot afford this,” warned the board.

The board was created in response to recommendations by the United Nations Secretary General’s Global Health Crises Task Force in 2017 and was co-convened by the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group and formally launched in May 2018. The 15-member Board is made up of political leaders, heads of agencies, and experts.

In a report from UN News, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), noted, “We can no longer wring our hands and say something must be done.”

He added, “It’s time for countries to get their hands dirty and build the public health systems to ensure a pandemic of this magnitude and severity never happens again.”

According to A World in Disorder, it would take 500 years to spend as much on investing in preparedness as the world is losing due to COVID-19.

In a statement issued at the Joint Meeting of G20 Ministers of Finance and Health on 17 September, the board’s co-chairs, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway and Former Director-General of the World Health Organization, and Elhadj As Sy, Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation Board, said COVID-19 was predictable. "Will it happen again? Unfortunately, yes. Can we do anything to prevent pandemics from occurring and mitigate their impact? Yes, we can.”

Call to action

The report called for seven urgent actions to prepare the world for health emergencies:

• Heads of government must commit and invest in necessary systems;
• Countries and regional organizations must lead by example;
• All countries must build strong systems; 
• Countries, donors and multilateral institutions must be prepared for the worst;
• Financing institutions must link preparedness with financial risk planning;
• Development assistance funders must create incentives and increase funding for preparedness; and
• The United Nations must strengthen coordination mechanisms.

The report notes that little progress has been made on any of the actions called for in last year’s report and that this lack of leadership is exacerbating the pandemic. “Failure to learn the lessons of COVID-19 or to act on them with the necessary resources and commitment will mean that the next pandemic, which is sure to come, will be even more damaging,” it warned.