Funding for pandemic prevention, preparedness, response established

Editor's Note 

The Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) Governing Board established the new FIF for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) at its inaugural meeting from September 8-9, World Health Organization (WHO) September 9 reports.

The goal is to provide long-term financing to strengthen PPR capabilities in low- and middle-income countries and address gaps through investments and technical support at the national, regional, and global level. The fund will help provide complementary support, improve coordination among partners, incentivize increased country investment, and more. The calls for proposal for investment to be funded will open in November 2022.

“COVID-19 has highlighted the pressing need for action to build stronger health systems,” said David Malpass, World Bank Group President. The funding could not only help strengthen PPR capacity in areas such as zoonotic disease surveillance; laboratories; emergency communication, coordination and management; critical health workforce capacities; and community engagement, but also PPR at the regional and global levels, according to WHO.

 Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said, “The suffering and loss we have all endured will be in vain unless we learn the painful lessons from COVID-19 and put in place the measures to fill critical gaps in the world’s defenses against epidemics and pandemics. The FIF is one of those key measures, and WHO looks forward to fulfilling its technical leadership role in advising the FIF Board on where to make the most effective investments to protect health, especially in low- and middle-income countries.”

Thus far, over 1.4 billion dollars in financial commitments have been announced, including numerous countries and large organizations, and more are expected in the next months.