WHO WATCH: The New Face of Pandemic Preparedness — Part One

Background

‘The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound economic, societal, and health consequences across all regions and income groups. Although medical advancements have reduced mortality, the broader systemic disruptions—economic instability, labor market shocks, inflation, and long-term development setbacks—have been significant. Moreover, new vulnerabilities have emerged in a hyper connected, rapidly changing world, including digital dependencies, misinformation, and sociopolitical polarization.

‘The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) is preparing its 2025 report under the theme “The New Face of Pandemic Preparedness” that will address the three following questions:

1. What are the various impact of pandemics we need to prepare for?
2. After COVID-19, what can we anticipate for the next crisis?
3. What insights can be drawn to improve preparedness in a fragmented world?

‘It is essential to incorporate a nuanced understanding of the evolving impacts of pandemics. This includes not only the economic toll of pandemics but also the implications for preparedness plans and National Action Plans for Health Security (NAPHS). GPMB and the WHO Information Network for Epidemics (EPI-WIN) will host this technical consultation to gather expert insights on how the impact dimensions of pandemics should reshape future planning and action.

‘For your reference, the GPMB 2024 report can be found at: https://www.gpmb.org/reports/report-2024

Objectives

The EPI-WIN consultation aims to: • Highlight the salient impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on short- and long-term consequences across sectors and regions. • Explore how these impacts are driving revisions of pandemic preparedness strategies and National Action Plans for Health Security. • Identify key lessons, policy gaps, and forward-looking strategies to build more resilient preparedness systems. The outcome of the discussion will feed into the GPMB 2025 report and recommendations.

Speakers:

• Matthew Stone,GPMB Member, Former Deputy Director-General of WOAH
• Prof Vernon Lee, Chief Executive Officer, CDA, Singapore
• Tomoya Saito, Director, CEPR, NIID, JIHS, Japan
• Viroj Tangcharoensathien, Advisor, IHPP, Thailand
• Gina Samaan, Regional Emergency Director, WHO WPRO

Moderator: GPMB Secretariat :

• Sylvie Briand, Director
• Maaya Kita, Technical Officer

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