Publication: Preventing, Preparing for, and Responding to Disease Outbreaks and Pandemics: Future Directions for the World Bank Group
Loading...
Published
2023-01-11
ISSN
Date
2023-01-19
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This paper has outlined an ambitious agenda for the WBG to support PPR enhancement at country, regional, and global levels as part of a broader approach to strengthen health systems. It is an agenda that not only seeks to deliver on the Bank’s IDA commitments related to disease outbreaks and crisis response but also to respond to demands from all our shareholders, clients, and other stakeholders for the Bank to play a key role in strengthening PPR capacities at country and regional levels through a wider health system strengthening agenda. Policy commitments from IDA’s Human capital special themes support the building of resilient health systems that can provide core essential health services and have the capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks and other health emergencies an approach that will ensure sustainability, efficiency, and effectiveness. The paper has highlighted that PPR is an inherently multisectoral agenda. Further, the paper has argued that there are large financing gaps to fill, particularly in LICs and MICs. Looking forward, the WBG will support strengthening of PPR through actions in three interconnected domains: 1) financing; 2) global engagements and partnerships; and 3) analytics, evidence, and dialogue.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2023. Preventing, Preparing for, and Responding to Disease Outbreaks and Pandemics: Future Directions for the World Bank Group. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/38521 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication On SARS Type Economic Effects During Infectious Disease Outbreaks(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-01)Infectious disease outbreaks can exact a high human and economic cost through illness and death. But, as with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in East Asia in 2003, or the plague outbreak in Surat, India, in 1994, they can also create severe economic disruptions even when there is, ultimately, relatively little illness or death. Such disruptions are commonly the result of uncoordinated and panicky efforts by individuals to avoid becoming infected, of preventive activity. This paper places these "SARS type" effects in the context of research on economic epidemiology, in which behavioral responses to disease risk have both economic and epidemiological consequences. The paper looks in particular at how people form subjective probability judgments about disease risk. Public opinion surveys during the SARS outbreak provide suggestive evidence that people did indeed at times hold excessively high perceptions of the risk of becoming infected, or, if infected, of dying from the disease. The paper discusses research in behavioral economics and the theory of information cascades that may shed light on the origin of such biases. The authors consider whether public information strategies can help reduce unwarranted panic. A preliminary question is why governments often seem to have strong incentives to conceal information about infectious disease outbreaks. The paper reviews recent game-theoretic analysis that clarifies government incentives. An important finding is that government incentives to conceal decline the more numerous are non-official sources of information about a possible disease outbreak. The findings suggest that honesty may indeed be the best public policy under modern conditions of easy mass global communications.Publication Animal and Pandemic Influenza : A Framework for Sustaining Momentum, Fifth Global Progress Report July 2010(New York: United Nations, 2010-07)Global efforts continue to work towards ensuring a world capable of preventing, detecting, and responding to animal and public health risks attributable to zoonoses and animal diseases. Drawing on achievements and experiences of the past five years, the fifth global progress report was produced to support the discussions and to provide a record of key outcomes from international ministerial conference on animal and pandemic influenza (IMCAPI). This report presents a framework for sustaining momentum which was agreed by delegates at the April 2010 IMCAPI. The framework offers three streams of work that need sustained attention by national, regional, and global authorities despite the inevitable waning of public interest in pandemic-related issues. The three work streams are: (a) prevention and control of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), (b) adoption of one health approaches, and (c) readiness for response to influenza pandemics. For each, the framework envisages two expected outcomes and identifies the actions which contribute to these expected outcomes. It identifies the incentives and institutional arrangements needed to sustain momentum, highlights systems for monitoring progress, and spells out investment priorities particularly to support institutions and systems in the least developed countries. To realize these goals, policy makers are moving away from tackling avian and pandemic influenza through emergency projects or special initiatives. Instead they aim for longer term capacity building through pursuit of effective strategies within existing programs, and the mainstreaming of pandemic readiness skills. The right incentives to achieve this transformation need to be identified and used backed with strategic political and financial support, novel institutional arrangements, and easily applied monitoring systems.Publication Reducing Climate-Sensitive Disease Risks(Washington, DC, 2014-04)Disease risks to humans, animals, and plants are determined by interconnected environmental variables that affect incidence, transmission, and outbreak. Climate change affects many of the environmental variables that lead to disease. Regardless of the species involved, the impacts can ultimately affect the health, livelihood, and economic security of humans. The objective of this World Bank economic and sector work is to build on scientific and operational knowledge of early action tools to help practitioners reduce the risks of key climate-sensitive infectious diseases by strengthening risk management systems for disease outbreaks. The report includes an assessment of known interventions such as the establishment of surveillance systems, the development of region and nation-specific disease outlooks, the creation of climate-sensitive disease risk maps, and the construction and implementation of early warning advisory systems. This research highlights the need for better understanding of the evolving interactions between the environment and emerging and reemerging disease pathogens. It also points to the inseparable interactions between animal health and human health, which climate change appears to be reinforcing and even diversifying. The assessment looks at investments that can lead to the development of these tools, working toward reducing global climate-sensitive disease risk. Because of the breadth of species affected by climate-sensitive disease, it has been helpful to select a model through which the specific impact of climate change and disease can be traced. In this instance, livestock has been chosen, given its significant global presence, economic importance, and susceptibility to disease outbreak. The livestock sector plays a vital role in the economies of many developing countries. Globally it accounts for 40 percent of agricultural gross domestic product (GDP).Publication The Effectiveness of Policies to Control a Human Influenza Pandemic : A Literature Review(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-02)The studies reviewed in this paper indicate that with adequate preparedness planning and execution it is possible to contain pandemic influenza outbreaks where they occur, for viral strains of moderate infectiousness. For viral strains of higher infectiousness, containment may be difficult, but it may be possible to mitigate the effects of the spread of pandemic influenza within a country and/or internationally with a combination of policies suited to the origins and nature of the initial outbreak. These results indicate the likelihood of containment success in 'frontline risk' countries, given specific resource availability and level of infectiousness; as well as mitigation success in 'secondary' risk countries, given the assumption of inevitable international transmission through air travel networks. However, from the analysis of the modeling results on interventions in the U.S. and U.K. after a global pandemic starts, there is a basis for arguing that the emphasis in the secondary risk countries could shift from mitigation towards containment. This follows since a mitigation-focused strategy in such developed countries presupposes that initial outbreak containment in these countries will necessarily fail. This is paradoxical if containment success at similar infectiousness of the virus is likely in developing countries with lower public health resources, based on results using similar modeling methodologies. Such a shift in emphasis could have major implications for global risk management for diseases of international concern such as pandemic influenza or a SARS-like disease.Publication Food Policy Options : Preventing and Controlling Nutrition Related Non-Communicable Diseases(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-11)Although diet structure and activity throughout the developing world have shifted drastically over the past several decades, little is known about effective policies to influence the supply and demand for food to control the undesirable effects, such as obesity, heart disease and cancer, of those shifts. Two questions specifically need to be addressed: a) Are the traditional policy levers for crops and livestock still important and feasible options, considering the latest developments in processing, distribution and marketing? b) What research should be done in the process of formulating an 'Action Agenda' over the longer term. The answer to question one, concerns 'Traditional' versus 'New Policy Levers', and includes: i) recognition of the limitations of conventional food policies; ii) demanding truth in advertising; iii) harnessing the influence of supermarkets and multinational corporations; iv) choosing realistic options to shift demand; v) addressing internal infrastructure; vi) using schools for targeted intervention. Currently, few studies allow linkage of prices, diet, and health outcomes in any systematic manner that considers the timing of the changes.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Digital-in-Health(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-08-18)Technology and data are integral to daily life. As health systems face increasing demands to deliver new, more, better, and seamless services affordable to all people, data and technology are essential. With the potential and perils of innovations like artificial intelligence the future of health care is expected to be technology-embedded and data-linked. This shift involves expanding the focus from digitization of health data to integrating digital and health as one: Digital-in-Health. The World Bank’s report, Digital-in-Health: Unlocking the Value for Everyone, calls for a new digital-in-health approach where digital technology and data are infused into every aspect of health systems management and health service delivery for better health outcomes. The report proposes ten recommendations across three priority areas for governments to invest in: prioritize, connect and scale.Publication World Bank Annual Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-25)This annual report, which covers the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, has been prepared by the Executive Directors of both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)—collectively known as the World Bank—in accordance with the respective bylaws of the two institutions. Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, has submitted this report, together with the accompanying administrative budgets and audited financial statements, to the Board of Governors.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.