Bridge Research Consortium Scientific Co-Director Kelley Lee is among an international team of leading experts launching a new blueprint for pandemic readiness as the United Nations General Assembly gathers for its 81st session this week.
Led by leading medical journal The Lancet and the National University of Singapore, the PRIME (Pandemic Readiness through Institutions, Mobilising Communities, and Equity) Commission questions traditional approaches to pandemic preparedness focused on a narrow set of technical capacities and needs. These approaches poorly predicted which countries would perform well during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also left many people without sufficient access to the systems and resources needed to meet their basic needs.
Drawing on hard lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic across 20 countries worldwide, along with futures scenarios and epidemiological modelling, the Commission sets out foundational blocks for achieving a “whole-of-society” approach to pandemic readiness. As described by Commission Co-Chair and former prime minister of New Zealand, the Right Honourable Helen Clark, “Governments have heard for years that they should take a ‘whole-of-society’ approach to pandemic planning. The NUS-Lancet PRIME Commission wanted to show that there is a practical way to achieve this, through steps that build trust and accountability with the very communities they are responsible to protect.”
Their latest report, Transforming Pandemic Readiness for Equity: People-centred, community grounded and whole-of-society action to tackle health threats and systemic vulnerabilities, brings together research and insights from the world’s foremost experts in pandemic readiness. It offers 10 integrated recommendations for equitable and sustained protection before, during and after pandemics. Key actions, lead actors and implementation markers are provided for each recommendation.
Lee is particularly pleased that the report champions the essential need for equitable access to medical countermeasures.
“There is global scientific consensus that pandemics will, not only occur in future, but be more frequent. Ecological disruption, climate change, urbanization, population mobility and geopolitical conflicts are occurring alongside pathogen emergence and evolution. Approaches to pandemic readiness must evolve accordingly,” said Lee. “The PRIME Commission begins with the recognition that pandemics impact entire societies. Our recommendations for action thus champion people-centred protection, equity, public trust, good governance, intergenerational responsibility and system resilience. Applying a whole-of-society approach means that pandemic readiness must be expanded to embrace the protection of livelihoods, social services, housing, education, food security and trustworthy information ecosystems. Strong societies mean strong resilience during public health emergencies.”
The report, Transforming Pandemic Readiness for Equity, is now available as a first step in transforming action for future pandemic resilience. The report sets out a PRIME test, to assess progress in implementing recommendations, and establishes a PRIME Collective to support countries, communities and partners seeking to move recommendations forward.
