The COVID-19 pandemic has tested our modern public health infrastructure like never before. Why have some nations successfully contained the virus, while others have failed? How can we use these insights to better prepare for and prevent future pandemics?
The Futures Forum on Preparedness, a two-day, virtual event that occurred on January 12-13, 2021, brought together health, science, and policy leaders from more than 90 countries to debut groundbreaking research on the global COVID-19 response and reimagine the future of public health.
Researchers from Harvard, Cornell, and Columbia universities unveiled new findings from two complementary and multi-national research efforts, undertaken by 78 researchers from 47 institutions, examining how public trust, leadership, and political culture have impacted 23 nations’ COVID-19 responses, including the first major intra-African study.
Researchers from Georgetown University’s Center of Global Health Science and Security launched Health Security Net, an online, searchable library containing over 1,200 global reports chronicling 25 years of pandemic preparedness policy. This collection is the most comprehensive repository of its kind ever published.
The forum marked the creation of a global, interdisciplinary network with the shared purpose of better preparing for and preventing future pandemics.
To that end, Schmidt Futures launched two working groups to operationalize the ideas from the forum, including the Vaccine Safety and Confidence-Building Working Group and the Learning and Accountability Working Group.
We also announced a new challenge opportunity to source the best ideas for increasing trust and solidarity as they relate to public health. The challenge is open to local governments, public health systems, and other institutions.
Sign up to stay up to date on these and other efforts related to public health and pandemic preparedness.
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