By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia Reporter
RISK OF pandemics and deadly disease outbreaks has increased compared with the period before COVID despite advances in vaccines and diagnostics, a report by scientific experts have disclosed.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the caution comes amid Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks overseas and one of Australia most severe diphtheria outbreaks on record.
The experts say climate change, armed conflict and misinformation are undermining global preparedness.
The findings come from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, (GPMB) a World Health Organization (WHO) convened body created in 2018 following West Africa first wide scale Ebola epidemic, aimed at assessing how well countries are prepared for future pandemics.
Its latest report published on Monday, they found that as infectious disease outbreaks become more frequent, they are also becoming more damaging, warning global preparedness is moving in the wrong direction.
The report authors wrote that evidence is clear that health, economic, social and political impacts of health emergencies have not diminished, and in important areas are growing.
Professor Sharon Lewin from the Doherty Institute at the University of Melbourne, not involved in the report, said the findings were a reminder that global cooperation and equitable access to health measures were crucial to pandemic preparedness.
The infectious diseases physician said scientists needed to work hand-in-hand with communities, policymakers and strategies around global equity, but warned the outlook is not good when it came to those broader systems.
On Sunday, the WHO declared a global health emergency over an outbreak of a rare strain of Ebola in Africa that has killed at least 131 people and infected more than 500 others.
At the same time the organisation and national health agencies are trying to contain a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship, which has killed three people.
In addition, Australia is grappling with an outbreak after reporting more than 220 cases of diphtheria this year, including the country first diphtheria related death in almost a decade.
The report authors point to climate change, armed conflict, rapid global movement and growing political fragmentation as major drivers behind the rising threat of outbreaks.
In 2024, the WHO had detected almost twice as many health emergencies as it did in 2015, emphasising the growing frequency of outbreaks worldwide.
It says that while countries now have more advanced tools to fight disease outbreaks, including mRNA vaccines, genomic sequencing and faster diagnostics, the authors said those gains were being undermined by misinformation, underfunding and geopolitical tensions.
Moreover, the report warned that trust in public institutions and international cooperation had deteriorated since the COVID pandemic, making it harder for countries to mount a united response when outbreaks emerged.
While the authors said Artificial Intelligence (AI) had enormous potential to transform pandemic preparedness, they said that without safeguards and effective oversight, it could deepen health inequities and widen access gaps.
Without tackling drivers of pandemics, reversing declining commitments to equity and collective action, and rebuilding public trust, the authors warned health emergencies would become more disruptive.
They also disclosed that the world risks are entering a cycle of accelerating health crises, where each new shock further erodes resilience and widens existing fractures they said.
The GPMB then called for stronger international monitoring systems, more equitable access to vaccines and treatments, and sustainable long-term funding for pandemic preparedness.
It also urged governments to invest more heavily in public health infrastructure and preparedness measures, warning the cost of prevention was far lower than the cost of responding to another global pandemic.
Back in Australia, Professor Sharon Lewin said the country had improved some aspects of its preparedness since the COVID pandemic, including through the establishment of a national Centre for Disease Control, investments in infectious disease monitoring and changes to data reporting systems.
But she warned pandemic preparedness could not be viewed through a purely national lens. “Pandemic preparedness is not about countries working in isolation,” she said.
“If we just look after Australia and just say we are okay, we are ready we will have access to vaccines and diagnostics we do not need to worry that is not a good approach We need to stop new outbreaks at their source,” she further cautioned.
She added that Australia could also do more to help improve equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments worldwide.
“Australia has a really important role to play through its contributions to the Global Fund and the WHO,” she stressed.
She also said “that is really the focus of this report, and it is a very important one because it is a reminder that it is not just about what we are doing in our own borders.
“We need to participate with the communities and countries around us,” she concluded.
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