It has been over six and a half years since the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in 20 million excess deaths and $10 trillion in economic damage. The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges that the world is better prepared for future pandemics, with concrete measures taken to strengthen preparedness. However, the WHO also notes that progress remains fragile and uneven, and more needs to be done to protect humanity. The organization has been working to improve global preparedness, but challenges persist.
A significant milestone in pandemic preparedness is the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement, a legally binding international instrument aimed at making the world safer and more equitable in the face of future pandemics. The agreement, adopted in May 2025, focuses on strengthening disease surveillance, healthcare systems, local vaccine and medicine production, scientific cooperation, and pandemic preparedness financing. However, its entry into force depends on the adoption of its annex on pathogen access and benefit sharing, which is still under negotiation.
In 2024, the World Health Assembly adopted amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), which entered into force in September 2025. These amendments introduce a new global alert level, "pandemic emergency," to strengthen international collaboration when a health risk exceeds the scope of a public health emergency of international concern. The amendments also establish national authorities responsible for coordinating IHR implementation and include provisions to enhance access to medical products and financing based on equity and solidarity.
The WHO has developed a framework to systematically measure preparedness for respiratory pandemics, including surveillance, emergency coordination, population protection, care, and access to medical countermeasures. The COVID-19 pandemic has left behind tools and refined reflexes that have been reused in other health crises, such as Ebola, Mpox, and Marburg outbreaks. These recent outbreaks have demonstrated the effectiveness of surveillance networks, diagnostic and sequencing capacity strengthening, and coordination mechanisms.
Despite progress at the multilateral level, national preparedness remains a concern. Not all countries seem prepared, and structural weaknesses persist, as highlighted by the Global Health Security Index. The index evaluates the capacities of 195 countries and identifies gaps in hospital capacity, medical supplies, and rapid deployment of public health resources. Financing is also a critical issue, with the Pandemic Fund allocating hundreds of millions of dollars to strengthen surveillance, laboratories, and healthcare personnel in low- and middle-income countries.
The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) warns that pandemic response capacity progress may be neutralized by factors such as geopolitical fragmentation, ecological disruptions, increased international displacement, and declining development aid. In a report published in May, the GPMB concluded that the world is "not safer" from pandemics, with risks increasing faster than investments to address them. The board emphasizes that the world is regressing on key indicators, such as equitable access to diagnostics, vaccines, and treatments.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, recently emphasized that no country can protect itself alone from global health threats. With changing priorities and financing shifting away from health to national defense and security, countries seem to have lost sight of the objectives set after the pandemic. The WHO and other global health authorities stress that it is essential to maintain momentum and not lower guard until lessons learned from the pandemic are translated into sustainable preparedness.
Key points
- The world has made progress in preparing for future pandemics, but significant gaps remain.
- The adoption of the Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations are key milestones in pandemic preparedness.
- Financing and national preparedness remain critical concerns in the fight against pandemics.
