The failure to act in the interests of all has prolonged the pandemic for all, as new variants circulate worldwide.


Introduction of the Report — From Worlds Apart to a World Prepared: GPMB 2021 Annual Report

GPMB
Mr Elhadj As Sy, Co-Chair
October, 2021

This is an excerpt from the report “From Worlds Apart to a World Prepared: GPMB 2021 Annual Report”, focusing on the “Introduction Chapter” of it, edited by the author of the blog.


If the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was defined by a collective failure to take preparedness seriously and act rapidly on the basis of science, the second has been marked by profound inequalities and a failure of leaders to understand our interconnectedness and act accordingly. 

In the most glaring example, as of 20th October, 63% of those living in high-income countries had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 

In low-income countries, only 4.5% had received the same.[1] 

The failure to act in the interests of all has prolonged the pandemic for all, as new variants circulate worldwide.

The failure to act in the interests of all has prolonged the pandemic for all, as new variants circulate worldwide.


Figure 1 | COVID-19 vaccine doses administered by country income group


The large majority of vaccine doses have been administered in high- and upper-middle-income countries. Very few have reached low-income countries. Source: Our World in Data, World Bank.

The pandemic has shone a harsh light on the world economic and social order, exacerbated inequalities that have devastated the most vulnerable, and called into question our ability to pull together even when confronted with a common crisis. 

Lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) struggle for access not only to vaccines but to basic medical supplies. 

The pandemic’s economic ramifications have been felt overwhelmingly by countries, communities, and individuals who were already disadvantaged. 

Hampered by polarization and competition, multilateral attempts to address inequities through pooled resources have faltered as nationalism overrides collaboration. 

The world is increasingly fragmented and the global crisis, instead of bringing people together, has tended to drive them apart.

The world is increasingly fragmented and the global crisis, instead of bringing people together, has tended to drive them apart.


The health emergency ecosystem reflects this broken world. 

Following each crisis, changes are proposed, yet few commitments are made and even those are often left unfulfilled. 

Hundreds of expert recommendations have been made over the last two decades, new structures have been created, but the level of ambition and action has failed to match the global need. We know what to do. We just cannot seem to do it.

We know what to do. We just cannot seem to do it.


The world is more interconnected than ever and faces an unprecedented level of threats and vulnerabilities. It is the Board’s view that the world remains woefully unprepared. 

It has neither the capacity to end the current pandemic in the near future nor to prevent the next one. 

The world is less safe than ever before; the risk of future pandemics is increasing at a greater pace than our capacity to prevent them. 

If we continue to apply the models and solutions of the past, we will continue to fail. 

We need to change the rules of the game, repair broken relationships, and fundamentally redefine the way we work together.


To end this pandemic and prevent a future tragedy, leaders must immediately implement fundamental reforms, while also strengthening the foundation of health emergency preparedness and response through a renewed global social contract based on reciprocity and the recognition of our shared world, shared risks, and shared responsibilities. 

We must capitalize on the momentum, political attention, and innovations created by the pandemic to forge a “world prepared.” 

This will mean working together to create a holistic health emergency ecosystem, with the ability to constantly adapt and evolve to respond to changing circumstances. 

The system must be designed to reflect our mutual interdependence and to facilitate collective action. And it must be accountable, with robust independent monitoring.

To end this pandemic and prevent a future tragedy, leaders must immediately implement fundamental reforms, while also strengthening the foundation of health emergency preparedness and response …

In addition to catastrophe, COVID-19 has generated opportunity. 

Our fresh experiences of the worst pandemic in 100 years have made us aware of the urgent need for fundamental change and major reforms are being proposed, discussed, and designed in several forums. 

This report is intended to encourage and contribute to these discussions by providing a comprehensive strategy to build a safer world based upon what we learned from the deep failings of the pandemic response and the opportunities that the pandemic’s destruction has created. 

It does not provide new strategies but seeks to consolidate existing proposals and ensure momentum is directed at the solutions that are most impactful and most critical, and will lead to a safer world.

[1] “Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity.” UNDP Covid-19 Data Futures Platform, https:// data.undp.org/vaccine-equity/. Accessed 21 Oct. 2021.


Originally published at https://www.gpmb.org/annual-reports/annual-report-2021

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