How can COVID-19 pandemic be brought to an end and reforms be made for better future preparedness

This week, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and I, as former Co-Chairs of The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, launched a “progress” report on what has happened since our Panel’s Main Report was presented to the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May. Our recommendations then were in two parts: on the measures needed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, and on those needed to ensure better preparedness and response capacity the next time a pandemic threat emerges.

The inequitable vaccine rollout, together with the abandonment or near abandonment of other basic public health measures even in countries with access to vaccines, has led to successive waves of the virus. Europe. for example, is now preparing for a grim winter. Our latest report looks at how to overcome these failings, and also at how discussion is going on needed reforms at the global level to support more effective future responses.

We very much hope that next week’s WHA Special Session will launch negotiations on new legal instruments to fight pandemics, that the WHA session next May will take decisive steps to strengthen the World Health Organisation, and that there will be a special session of the UN General Assembly to agree on a political declaration on the needed reforms covering governance and accountability, financing, better ways of providing equitable access to the goods needed to fight a pandemic, and support for WHO strengthening and reforms to international law around pandemics.

The link to the report is here. Health Policy Watch reviews the launch and the report here, and there is much other coverage in global media.