Since 2006, the award has been shining a spotlight on heroic African individuals and institutions making a real difference in the continent’s agriculture, food and nutrition security landscape.
…says pandemic risk outpacing investment in preparedness
The world is at risk of facing another pandemic that could be deadlier and more economically damaging, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank have warned in a new report.
The 2026 Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), titled, “A World on the edge” published Monday found that decade after Ebola exposed dangerous gaps in outbreak preparedness, and six years after COVID-19 turned those gaps into a global catastrophe making the world less safer from pandemics, the gaps are still existing.
The report found that as infectious disease outbreaks become more frequent they are also becoming more damaging, with widening health, economic, political and social impacts, and less capacity to recover from them.
It warned that a decade of investment has not kept pace with rising pandemic risk, and efforts are being offset by the growing effects of rising geopolitical fragmentation, ecological disruption, and global travel, especially as development assistance falls to levels not seen since 2009 .
The report analysesd a decade of Public Heath Emergencies of International Concern (PHEICs), from Ebola in West Africa to COVID-19 to mpox, assessing their impacts on health systems, economies and societies. On key measures – such as equitable access to diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics – the report noted that the world is moving backwards.
Mpox vaccines reached affected low-income countries almost two years after the outbreak began , even slower than the 17 months it took for COVID-19 vaccines, the reported noted.
It added that the escalating toll of such emergencies extends far beyond health and economic impacts: both Ebola and COVID-19 damaged trust in government, civil liberties and democratic norms, amplified by politicised responses, attacks on scientific institutions and polarisation that have outlasted the crises, leaving societies less resilient to the next emergency.
Read also: Ebola cases in Congo decreasing, but high attention needed, WHO warns
The report emphasised that the real, near term risk of another pandemic would strike a world more divided, more indebted and less able to protect its people than it was a decade ago, exposing all countries to potentially greater health, social and economic impacts.
The report highlighted the potential of AI and digital technologies to improve preparedness, especially for monitoring pandemic threats, but emphasised that without effective governance and safeguards they could actually reduce health security and accelerate the access gaps that defined COVID-19.
“The world does not lack solutions. But without trust and equity, those solutions will not reach the people who need them most. Political leaders, industry and civil society can still change the trajectory of global preparedness – if they turn their commitments into measurable progress before the next crisis strikes”, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic GPMB Co-Chair said.
Read also: Ebola alert: Nigeria activates emergency protocols after WHO emergency declaration
The report identified 3 concrete priorities for political leaders to reverse these trends: establish a permanent, independent monitoring mechanism to track pandemic risk; advance equitable access to life-saving vaccines, tests and treatments by concluding the Pandemic Agreement; and secure robust financing for both preparedness & ‘Day Zero’ response activities.
“If trust and cooperation continue to fracture, every country will be more exposed when the next pandemic strikes. Preparedness is not only a technical challenge — it is a test of political leadership” Joy Phumaphi GPMB Co-Chair said.
The report further highlighted that leadership will be tested this year, as governments work to finalise the WHO Pandemic Agreement and to agree a meaningful United Nations political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
