The world is ill-prepared to prevent another pandemic

Dec 14, 2021

With the collaboration of Statista.

A teacher puts hydroalcoholic gel on the hands of schoolchildren as they enter in the classroom at a private school in Saint-Sebastien-sur-Loire near Nantes as France is seeing an increase in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and hospitalisations, France, December 10, 2021. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

The global average score for the prevention of the emergence or release of pathogens is just 28.4 out of 100. Image: REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Felix Richter

Data Journalist, Statista

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According to the 2021 Global Health Security Index, the world isn't well equipped to prevent another pandemic.
The global average score for the prevention of the emergence or release of pathogens is just 28.4 out of 100.
The index showed 113 countries are found to show “little to no attention” to zoonotic diseases, the same type believed to cause COVID-19.

While the world’s overall preparedness score in the 2021 Global Health Security Index isn't particularly good, it is markedly worse in the Prevention category. The global average score for the prevention of the emergence or release of pathogens is just 28.4 out of 100, as 113 countries are found to show “little to no attention” to zoonotic diseases, i.e. diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans, such as Covid-19 according to current knowledge.

a chart showing how well equip the world is to deal with a pandemic

The global average score for the prevention of the emergence or release of pathogens is just 28.4 out of 100. Image: Statista

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As the following chart shows, other categories also score far below the maximum of 100, with just one of the six pillars of health security reaching a global average score above 50. Worryingly, it’s the early stages of an epidemic, pandemic where the world seems particularly vulnerable. With a global average Prevention score of 28.4 out of 100 and an Early Detection & Reporting score of 32.3, the world seems dangerously underprepared to stop a future epidemic before it becomes a pandemic.

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What is the World Economic Forum doing about epidemics?

Epidemics are a huge threat to health and the economy: the vast spread of disease can literally destroy societies.

In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched – bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and to enable access to them during outbreaks.

Our world needs stronger, unified responses to major health threats. By creating alliances and coalitions like CEPI, which involve expertise, funding and other support, we are able to collectively address the most pressing global health challenges.

Is your organisation interested in working with the World Economic Forum to tackle global health issues? Find out more here.

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