OVID-19 has changed our world—our ways of working, traveling, communicating, and living will never be the same. The damage done by the pandemic and the threats to global health stretch beyond the 765 million confirmed cases and roughly 7 million reported deaths. The pandemic emergency may now have been declared over, but viral mutations still exist and many who suffered from COVID-19 still suffer its effects.
As the world convenes to assess progress toward the Global Goals, we must remember our COVID-19 failure. As the world scrambled to address the pandemic, our system failed us. In May, 2021, the WHO Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness issued a stark warning: “Current institutions, public and private, failed to protect people from a devastating pandemic... and... without change, these institutions will not be able to prevent a future pandemic.”
The lack of an authoritative and trusted communication strategy and system makes societies vulnerable to disease outbreaks and disinformation designed to undermine effective public health responses.
The diminishing trust in government institutions apparent during the pandemic has not abated, and mis/dis-information about vaccines and disease continue to threaten public health. While efforts are being made to understand how the global response to COVID-19 could have been improved, we have pandemic fatigue and complacency, while people continue to die while effective vaccines still are not equitably distributed. This also has spilled over to our future hope for innovation, competitiveness, and overall security.
Learning From the Flawed Pandemic Responses:
This difficult context only increases the importance of investing in multisector approaches to attain Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3)—“Good health and well-being.” Given this challenge, the Business Partner Roundtables (BPR) hosted a convening under the auspices of the USCIB Foundation, gathering input from private, public, and academic leaders to address global health threats. Attendees offered ideas building upon the widely read multinational Delphi consensus recommendations by 386 established experts from more than 100 countries to end the COVID-19 public health threat.
Along with the priorities of the global consensus report for a Whole-of-Society approach, the BPR ranked communication as an imperative globally, foundational for trust including the need for investment at the global, national and community level. Experts from the WHO, CDC, Council of Foreign Relations, business leaders, academics, and others echoed the meeting theme—There’s More to be Done—proclaiming the need to engage multiple disciplines, sectors, and actors (e.g., business, civil society, engineering, faith communities, mathematical modeling, military, media, psychology) and develop true multisectoral collaboration.
In short, to achieve SDG 3 we need new approaches and capabilities to ensure that our future is protected with strategic health diplomacy, effective health communication, and science-based responses to disease threats. This cannot be done if we do not begin post haste to rebuild the public's trust in government and the institutions we have to protect and safeguard our health.
This will not be easy, as we need to re-engage the population and rebuild trust, beginning with a strategy that enhances health and vaccine literacy—people’s understanding of the importance of health as our common currency for investment at the community, national and global level. The economic arguments are strong, but the value-based arguments are tantamount. We could start with the success demonstrated with eradicating smallpox, and nearly ending polio, reminding people of the success demonstrated with COVID-19 vaccines that stymied the pandemic. Yet, to build trust we need confidence in the equitable distribution of health and future vaccination to overcome the systematic threats to our health with the mis and disinformation that cloud future health decision-making.
All of us in society would benefit from clear communication from a trusted source for SDG 3—advancing good health and wellbeing. We could begin to develop an Initiative to Strengthen Information on Global Health Threats (INSIGHT) with a clear objective to develop a recognized, credible, and trusted source of information. INSIGHT could leverage the world’s best technology innovation with AI, integrating identification, tracking, and real-time communication for effective responses concerning public health threats.
Finally, we should realize our role in society. The BPRs bring people together to elicit innovative ideas to address all the SDGs including Goal 17—Partnerships for the Goals. Together, we can empower those in the multilateral system, NGOs, government scientists, diplomats and others with expertise to become more active as “trusted sources” of information and dialogue on addressing future health crises, acting as “welcome messengers” to convey public health messaging on resilience and preparedness to businesses, employers, employees, and supply chains. Employers for example, have a coveted trusted role that can specifically enhance vaccine literacy and advancing health at the workplace. (The USCIB Foundation has developed free Learning Modules for employers of all sizes)
a global affairs media network
Beyond the Pandemic-There's More to be Done on SDG 3
Illustration via Adobe Stock.
September 19, 2023
Our institutions failed us during the pandemic, with poor communication strategies that led to diminishing trust in these institutions. To make progress on SDG 3, we must learn from our pandemic response mistakes and rebuild trust with global publics, writes Scott C. Ratzan, MD.
C
OVID-19 has changed our world—our ways of working, traveling, communicating, and living will never be the same. The damage done by the pandemic and the threats to global health stretch beyond the 765 million confirmed cases and roughly 7 million reported deaths. The pandemic emergency may now have been declared over, but viral mutations still exist and many who suffered from COVID-19 still suffer its effects.
As the world convenes to assess progress toward the Global Goals, we must remember our COVID-19 failure. As the world scrambled to address the pandemic, our system failed us. In May, 2021, the WHO Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness issued a stark warning: “Current institutions, public and private, failed to protect people from a devastating pandemic... and... without change, these institutions will not be able to prevent a future pandemic.”
The lack of an authoritative and trusted communication strategy and system makes societies vulnerable to disease outbreaks and disinformation designed to undermine effective public health responses.
The diminishing trust in government institutions apparent during the pandemic has not abated, and mis/dis-information about vaccines and disease continue to threaten public health. While efforts are being made to understand how the global response to COVID-19 could have been improved, we have pandemic fatigue and complacency, while people continue to die while effective vaccines still are not equitably distributed. This also has spilled over to our future hope for innovation, competitiveness, and overall security.
Learning From the Flawed Pandemic Responses:
This difficult context only increases the importance of investing in multisector approaches to attain Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3)—“Good health and well-being.” Given this challenge, the Business Partner Roundtables (BPR) hosted a convening under the auspices of the USCIB Foundation, gathering input from private, public, and academic leaders to address global health threats. Attendees offered ideas building upon the widely read multinational Delphi consensus recommendations by 386 established experts from more than 100 countries to end the COVID-19 public health threat.
Along with the priorities of the global consensus report for a Whole-of-Society approach, the BPR ranked communication as an imperative globally, foundational for trust including the need for investment at the global, national and community level. Experts from the WHO, CDC, Council of Foreign Relations, business leaders, academics, and others echoed the meeting theme—There’s More to be Done—proclaiming the need to engage multiple disciplines, sectors, and actors (e.g., business, civil society, engineering, faith communities, mathematical modeling, military, media, psychology) and develop true multisectoral collaboration.
In short, to achieve SDG 3 we need new approaches and capabilities to ensure that our future is protected with strategic health diplomacy, effective health communication, and science-based responses to disease threats. This cannot be done if we do not begin post haste to rebuild the public's trust in government and the institutions we have to protect and safeguard our health.
This will not be easy, as we need to re-engage the population and rebuild trust, beginning with a strategy that enhances health and vaccine literacy—people’s understanding of the importance of health as our common currency for investment at the community, national and global level. The economic arguments are strong, but the value-based arguments are tantamount. We could start with the success demonstrated with eradicating smallpox, and nearly ending polio, reminding people of the success demonstrated with COVID-19 vaccines that stymied the pandemic. Yet, to build trust we need confidence in the equitable distribution of health and future vaccination to overcome the systematic threats to our health with the mis and disinformation that cloud future health decision-making.
All of us in society would benefit from clear communication from a trusted source for SDG 3—advancing good health and wellbeing. We could begin to develop an Initiative to Strengthen Information on Global Health Threats (INSIGHT) with a clear objective to develop a recognized, credible, and trusted source of information. INSIGHT could leverage the world’s best technology innovation with AI, integrating identification, tracking, and real-time communication for effective responses concerning public health threats.
Finally, we should realize our role in society. The BPRs bring people together to elicit innovative ideas to address all the SDGs including Goal 17—Partnerships for the Goals. Together, we can empower those in the multilateral system, NGOs, government scientists, diplomats and others with expertise to become more active as “trusted sources” of information and dialogue on addressing future health crises, acting as “welcome messengers” to convey public health messaging on resilience and preparedness to businesses, employers, employees, and supply chains. Employers for example, have a coveted trusted role that can specifically enhance vaccine literacy and advancing health at the workplace. (The USCIB Foundation has developed free Learning Modules for employers of all sizes)
