As the world continues to grapple with the devastating impact of COVID-19, a new report released today by the World Bank proposes feasible solutions to end the cycle of devastating pandemics.

Since 1980, outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases have increased at an average rate of 6.7 percent per year, and since 2000, the number of outbreaks has increased to hundreds per year. This is largely due to humans expanding their global footprint, changing natural habitats and accelerating the spread of animal microbes into human populations.

Seventy-five per cent of emerging infectious diseases and almost all known pandemics are caused by increased contact between animals and humans, causing more than one billion infections and one million deaths each year. This, coupled with the increased movement of goods and people around the world, makes it easier for emerging infectious diseases to spread and change.

Annual prevention costs range from $10.3 billion to $11.5 billion

The report "Moving Beyond the Pandemic: Investing in One Health to reduce the risk of emerging infectious diseases" urges policymakers, governments and the international community to invest in pandemic prevention and to move away from the usual practice of delaying containment and control measures until diseases emerge. The report estimates the cost of prevention under the One Health approach at US $10.3 billion to US $11.5 billion per year, which would sustainably balance and optimize human, animal, and ecosystem health, compared with a recent estimate by the G20 Joint Working Group on Financial Health of about US $30.1 billion per year for pandemic management.

"Prevention is better than cure," said Huilan Fung, World Bank Managing Director for Development Policy and Partnerships. COVID-19 has shown that a pandemic risk anywhere becomes a pandemic risk globally. There is a strong economic case for 'One Health' and the costs of prevention are extremely limited compared to the costs of managing and responding to a pandemic."

Prevention costs are only about a third of the cost of preparedness, and less than 1% of the cost of COVID-19 in 2020, when the global economy shrank 4.3%, or about $3.6 trillion worth of lost goods, services and other capacity, as well as the public health response. Ultimately, prevention is a global public good: no country can benefit from it, and there is no limit to the number of countries that can benefit from it. Unfortunately, investment in prevention has been chronically underinvested, and countries must take action. Moreover, when prevention is successful, its benefits are invisible and there is no crisis requiring immediate attention. One Health is the global approach needed to break the cycle of fear, neglect and underinvestment.

Successful implementation of One Health requires improved coordination, communication and cooperation across sectors, strengthened through capacity building. This means balancing management development and overall health goals, and sharing costs more equitably through global coordination of policy and financing actions.

Investing in One Health is investing in the future of humanity. The framework is holistic and helps governments, international organizations and donors channel financial resources and optimize scarce financial resources to prevent pandemics. The One Health initiative, aimed at preventing disease outbreaks, is cost-effective, with an estimated annual return of up to 86 per cent. It is time to mainstream One Health, to break out of the cycle of panic and neglect, and to put prevention over cure into practice.