“It is likely that the world will continue to face outbreaks that most countries are ill positioned to combat. In addition to climate change and urbanization, international mass displacement and migration—now happening in nearly every corner of the world—create ideal conditions for the emergence and spread of pathogens.” – The Global Health Security Index, 2019
The report outlined eight critical insights about global health security in 2019 that reveal some of the problems countries are now facing.
- National health security is fundamentally weak globally. No country is fully prepared for epidemics or pandemics, and every country has important gaps to address.
- Countries are not prepared for a globally catastrophic biological event.
- There is little evidence that most countries have tested important health security capacities or shown that they would be functional in a crisis.
- Most countries have not allocated funding from national budgets to fill identified preparedness gaps.
- More than half of countries face major political and security risks that could undermine national capability to combat biological threats.
- Most countries lack basic health systems capacities critical for epidemic and pandemic response.
- Coordination and training are inadequate among veterinary, wildlife, and public health professionals and policymakers.
- Improving country compliance with international health and security norms is essential.
