Investing in Pandemic Preparedness
The Commission’s report makes the case for greater investment in countering infectious-disease threats, arguing that potential pandemics should be considered not just as important health risks but as major threats to the global economy and global security. The key lies in how the issue is framed. If outbreaks are framed as a health issue, spending on preventing and preparing for them pales against more pressing and visible health priorities. Governments find it difficult to justify spending money on avoiding relatively low-probability crises, and the private sector foresees relatively little return on such investments.