Five years after the emergence of COVID-19, which resulted in millions of deaths and devastated the global economy, experts and the World Health Organization (WHO) believe the world is better prepared but still far from fully ready to tackle another pandemic.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has noted that while significant lessons have been learned and steps taken to bolster defences, many of the weaknesses seen during COVID-19 still persist. Similarly, Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist, remarked that improvements had been made due to past experiences with pandemics like H1N1 and COVID-19, but she expressed doubts about the world’s readiness for another global health crisis.
An independent panel of experts formed by the WHO has also reported that inequalities in access to funding and pandemic response tools, such as vaccines, leave the world unprepared for a new pandemic threat in 2025.
Virologists, including Marion Koopmans and Tom Peacock, have highlighted both advancements and challenges. Koopmans indicated that mRNA vaccine technology could make a significant difference in a future pandemic but warned about issues such as widespread misinformation. Peacock stressed the seriousness of the threat posed by H5N1 avian influenza, which currently does not spread between humans but circulates widely among animals.
The WHO and global institutions have taken steps to improve preparedness. The WHO inaugurated a pandemic prevention centre in Berlin in 2021 and established a global biomanufacturing training hub in South Korea in 2022. Meanwhile, the World Bank’s Pandemic Fund, created in 2022, has financed nearly 50 projects in 75 countries with $885 million.
Despite these efforts, challenges remain. Many public health experts, like Meg Schaeffer from the SAS Institute in the US, believe that another four to five years will be needed to enhance the speed and efficiency of sharing critical information during global health crises. However, Schaeffer noted that lessons learned during COVID-19, such as the importance of social distancing and mask-wearing, have improved public understanding of protective measures.
The WHO has also taken steps to streamline global cooperation during pandemics, introducing the concept of a “pandemic emergency,” the highest level of global alert. Negotiators have set a deadline of May 2025 to reach consensus on a global pandemic preparedness agreement.
Meanwhile, WHO scientists have evaluated over 1,600 pathogens, identifying around 30 that could pose future pandemic threats. This list includes COVID-19, Lassa fever, and viruses such as Ebola, Zika, and Marburg, underscoring the continued need for vigilance and global collaboration.
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