Should global financing be the main priority for pandemic preparedness?

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Carel IJsselmuiden, Council on Health Research for Development, Geneva; Francine Ntoumi, Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo; James Lavery, Emory University; James Montoya, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development; Salim Abdool Karim, Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa; Kirsty Kaiser, Council on Health Research for Development, Geneva
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-07-31
• Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01387-8
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: LANCET
• Volume: 398
• Issue: 10298
• Start Page: 388
• End Page: 388
• Keywords: Science & Technology; General & Internal Medicine; Medicine, General & Internal; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Nicole Lurie and colleagues1 argue that “[m]any gaps…must be bridged to establish a truly efficient and effective end-to-end R&D [research and development] preparedness and response ecosystem. Foremost among them is a global financing system”. While obviously essential, it is unlikely that global financing, in itself, will address the immoral inequity on display in the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.2 The R&D systems of low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) need to be strengthened with equal force and funding for pandemic preparedness to succeed.