Experts have raised alarms about the world’s diminishing resilience toward infectious disease outbreaks, especially as health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda work to manage an Ebola outbreak.
The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) released a report indicating that outbreaks of infectious diseases are becoming not only more frequent but also increasingly damaging. The report emphasized that the risk of a pandemic is outpacing investments in preparedness, leaving the world “not yet meaningfully safer.”
Factors like the climate crisis and armed conflict are making disease outbreaks more likely, while geopolitical divisions and self-interest are hindering collective action, according to the report.
Established in 2018 by the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the wake of a significant Ebola outbreak in West Africa and just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the GPMB’s findings emerge as there’s heightened global focus on a hantavirus outbreak from a cruise ship. This comes a day after an international public health emergency was declared following at least 87 Ebola-related deaths in the DRC.
At the opening of the WHO’s World Health Assembly in Geneva, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked that these two outbreaks are indicative of ongoing crises worldwide.
The WHO representative in the DRC, Anne Ancia, mentioned to Reuters that they had depleted their stocks of protective equipment in Kinshasa and were organizing a cargo plane to bring in additional supplies from Kenya. Aid organizations like the International Rescue Committee and Médecins Sans Frontières are actively responding to the outbreak.
This Friday, the WHO plans to host an urgent scientific consultation, gathering leading experts to discuss the virus and direct research toward vaccine, testing, and treatment development.
In Geneva, Prof. Matthew Kavanagh from Georgetown University pointed out that cuts to aid may have hindered the world’s ability to swiftly respond to this dangerous pathogen. He observed that early testing was aimed at the incorrect strain of Ebola, resulting in false negatives that delayed response efforts. By the time authorities were alerted, the virus had already spread along critical transport routes.
This situation didn’t evolve in isolation. He cautioned that when substantial financial support for the WHO is withdrawn and frontline USAID programs are dismantled, the surveillance systems designed to detect such viruses early are severely weakened. We are now witnessing the grave consequences of viewing global health security as a discretionary expense.
The GPMB report indicates that while new technologies, such as advanced mRNA vaccine platforms, have progressed rapidly and significant investments have been made in pandemic preparedness and response, the world seems to be moving backwards. For example, during the recent mpox outbreaks, it took nearly two years for vaccines to reach affected countries in Africa, which is an even longer timeframe than the 17 months required for COVID-19 vaccines.
Moreover, past outbreaks have not only harmed trust in government and civil liberties but have also been exacerbated by politicized responses and attacks on scientific institutions. The GPMB highlights that these issues have lingering effects, making societies less equipped to tackle future emergencies.
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, GPMB co-chair and former president of Croatia, stressed that while solutions exist, they won’t be effective without trust and equitable access to those solutions for the people who need them most.
She also noted that if political leaders, industry, and civil society act decisively, measurable progress can still alter the course of global preparedness before the next crisis arises.
Unfortunately, countries missed a deadline to finalize a pandemic agreement treaty ahead of the World Health Assembly this week due to disagreements on access to medical tests, vaccines, and treatments in exchange for transparency on new pathogens.
The GPMB has urged political leaders to establish a permanent, independent system for monitoring pandemic risks, conclude the pandemic agreement for equitable access to medical resources, and secure the necessary funding for preparedness and rapid responses to outbreaks.
Joy Phumaphi, GPMB co-chair and former health minister in Botswana, warned that if trust and collaboration remain fractured, every nation will suffer greater vulnerability when the next pandemic occurs.
