World Bank has urged governments, policymakers to prioritise investing massively in pandemic prevention and move away from the usual approach of containment and control after a disease has emerged.

In a report, ‘Putting Pandemics Behind Us: Investing in One Health to Reduce Risks of Emerging Infectious Diseases”, the global bank noted that the proposed step would sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals and ecosystems.

It further stated that estimates that prevention costs guided by a One Health approach may likely cost $11.5 billion yearly is far cheaper than spending $30.1 billion per year on managing epidemics.

Responding to the findings, the World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, Mari Pangestu, said: “Prevention is better than cure. COVID-19 has shown that a pandemic risk anywhere becomes a pandemic risk everywhere. The economic case for One Health is powerful, the cost of prevention is extremely modest compared to the cost of managing and responding to pandemics.”

Indeed, prevention costs are only about a third of the cost of preparedness, and less than one per cent of the cost of COVID-19 in 2020 – when the global economy contracted by 4.3 per cent or about $3.6 trillion worth of goods, services and other output lost, and the public health response.

The report said ultimately, prevention is a global public good: no country can be excluded from benefiting and there is no limit to how many countries can benefit, adding, “unfortunately, there is chronic underinvestment in prevention and countries must take action. In addition, when prevention is successful, the benefits are invisible and do not manifest as crises that demand immediate attention. One Health is the global approach required to break this cycle of panic, neglect, and underinvestment.”