Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director General of World Health Organization (WHO), has warned that the world is not yet prepared for the next pandemic, noting that it is not a matter of 'if' it will happen but 'when'. ALSO READ: Is Africa prepared for the next pandemic? He made the remarks, on February 12, at the 11th World Governments Summit (WGS) in Dubai, UAE, a gathering that brought together leaders, experts and senior officials from more than 150 countries, to address future trends and shifts on the global level and ways to foster collaboration regionally and globally. Ghebreyesus said how, in February 2018, he expressed concern that the world wasn’t prepared for a pandemic that could happen anytime –and in December 2019, Covid-19 struck costing many lives and leaving social, economic, and political shocks. “Although some progress has been made, like improvements in surveillance, establishment of the Pandemic Fund, building capacities in vaccine production and the periodic review we have started, still, the world is not prepared for a pandemic,” he said. According to him, the cycle of panic and neglect is beginning to repeat, given the danger of forgetting the past pandemic lessons as attention turns to many other crises happening in the world. “But, if we fail to learn those lessons, we will pay dearly next time. And there will be a next time. History teaches us that the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if.” ALSO READ: Pandemic has accelerated the urgency for Africa's self-reliance - PM Ngirente The outbreak and response mechanisms to Covid-19 brought to light serious issues with regard to vaccine supply resilience in the areas of global health security and equity, particularly in Africa. Among the key lessons learnt is the urgency to build Africa’s resilient health ecosystem to curb over reliance on external supply which weighs heavily on human’s lives, as highlighted by African leaders on several occasions. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the technical agency mandated with continental health security, envisages manufacturing at least 60 percent of the continent’s vaccine demand by 2040. Rwanda, as well as other African countries, have taken steps to build the continent’s capacity in terms of vaccine manufacturing, research and development, and advancing pharmaceutical industry on the continent, among others. While the next pandemic may be caused by an influenza virus, new coronavirus, or an unknown new pathogen termed as Disease X that has received a lot of attention recently, Ghebreyesus emphasized that as things stand, the world remains unprepared. “As a generation that lived through Covid-19, we have a collective responsibility to protect future generations from the suffering we endured.” In December 2021, WHO member states agreed to develop an international agreement on pandemic preparedness and response, the pandemic treaty. While the negotiations are still ongoing, the agreement is set to be adopted at the World Health Assembly in May.
