A new group called the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, operating under the World Health Organization and the World Bank, has issued a stark warning: the world is unprepared for the next global pandemic. Their report paints a bleak picture of our current state of readiness, highlighting major gaps in both public health infrastructure and international cooperation.
Some key takeaways from the report:
- “The world is not prepared for a fast-moving, virulent respiratory pathogen pandemic.â€
- In a scenario similar to the 1918 influenza pandemic, between 50 to 80 million people could die. Beyond the human toll, such an event could cause widespread panic, threaten national security, and severely disrupt the global economy.
- “Preparedness is hampered by the lack of continued political will at all levels.â€
- A bioweapon—whether released accidentally or intentionally—poses a threat that could be even more devastating than a natural outbreak.
- When disaster strikes, it often hits hardest in poorer countries, where resources are scarce and systems are fragile.
Both *The Independent* and *Foreign Policy* have covered the report. The latter, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Laurie Garrett, offers a particularly sobering perspective. She argues that no amount of expert reports will be enough to drive real change—what’s needed is a collective, sustained effort that goes beyond words.
In some regions, basic preparation is nearly impossible. Many of the report’s recommendations rely on local governments cooperating, but in places like conflict zones—where diseases like Ebola are still active—cooperation is rare. For example, one key recommendation is that all countries establish a system to quickly share genome sequences of new pathogens and distribute medical countermeasures globally.
Yet in Tanzania, there's a disease with Ebola-like symptoms, and the government isn’t sharing clinical data. This has raised serious concerns at the WHO, which has publicly criticized the lack of transparency. The U.S. health secretary, Alex Azar, has also expressed worry that Tanzania may be failing its international health commitments.
We don’t yet know what virus is behind these cases, and we might not find out until it’s too late. That’s the danger of poor data sharing in a globalized world.
Money is the ultimate form of preparation. In most scenarios, the difference between who survives and who suffers is financial. Wealthy countries can weather a pandemic with a small economic hit—around 0.5% of GDP, according to the report. But for less developed nations, the impact is far worse, both economically and in terms of lives lost.
Even within wealthy countries, the well-off are better positioned to handle a crisis. In the U.S., having savings, flexible work arrangements, and time off can make a huge difference in avoiding exposure and managing the aftermath. Even if you’re working from home, you might need time off to care for family, stock up on supplies, or manage children staying home from school.
This link between wealth and preparedness reinforces a pattern I’ve seen in my own disaster research: large-scale crises tend to widen existing inequalities rather than level the playing field. That’s why smart prepping includes building financial resilience—paying down debt, living within your means, and being ready when the unexpected happens.
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