Innovation is needed to build resilience for pandemic preparedness.

A vastly improved global approach is within reach. By 2030, every country should enjoy the fundamental building blocks of pandemic preparedness, including the capacity to sequence emergent threats, the expertise and resources to rapidly build diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines, and the infrastructure to both surveil viral spread locally and share data in real time. Because viruses are so fast-moving, penetrating, and volatile, no country can be left behind if we are to successfully preempt another global pandemic. Pandemic preparedness and response require the full participation of every nation and must be undertaken with the precision and speed of military alliances such as NATO, the diplomatic tact of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the inclusive nature of the United Nations General Assembly.3 To achieve this vision, governance and coordination are key. Among the many recommendations outlined by the IPPPR and G-20 High Level Independent Panel, there emerges a common theme: strengthening global leadership and coordination at every level for pandemic preparedness—from building and improving surveillance systems to developing “pre-negotiated” platforms for production and distribution of tests and medical countermeasures—with financing as a key facilitator.4 Even before the next outbreak or pandemic strikes, immediate action to advance the recommendations of both panels are critical for a number of reasons. Most evidently, infectious disease has generated more personal and economic devastation than any war in modern history. Every year, the impacts of annual infections eclipse those of all major wars, but traditional defense budgets, including that of the United States, contribute very little to combating the bioterror threat posed by infectious pathogens. The cost of crisis response, once a major outbreak hits, far exceeds that of building resilient health systems for pandemic preparedness. In 2016, the Commission on a Global Health Risk Framework for the Future explained why an additional US$4.5 billion dedicated to pandemic preparedness each year would considerably improve global resilience against infectious disease.5 By comparison, the 2014–16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa cost an estimated US$53 billion in economic losses and 11,300 deaths.6 One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, estimated economic losses thus far have reached several trillions of dollars and deaths have surpassed 4 million, with extensive morbidity beyond.7,8 Furthermore, the tools needed to stop a viral outbreak are broadly applicable to any virus and routine care. Pandemic preparedness is not separate from, but rather core to, a healthcare system capable of fighting malaria, TB, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), and the common cold. Anywhere in the world, the tools needed to stop our families, neighbors, and coworkers from falling ill are the same tools needed to stop an outbreak. Both pandemic preparedness and general healthcare work hand in hand to improve health and wellness worldwide. Finally, our universal vulnerability to infectious pathogens, made evident by COVID-19, means that everyone has an important role to play in outbreak prevention. Because of the exponential spread of viruses, one person can launch a pandemic, but one person can also stop it from spreading. To avoid future devastation, the global community must unite now in empowering every actor in the system to fully engage in their own health. This means eliminating global disparities in access to detection tools, countermeasures, and information technologies, connecting local health systems and providers with national, regional, and global health systems, and building newfound community trust in science and medicine.