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IANPHI Report Warns of ‘Income Gap’ in Pandemic Preparedness and Learning

Global Study Finds High-Income Countries are Twice as Likely to Implement Lessons Learned After Crises.

The International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI), supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has released its 2024-2025 “Role of NPHIs in Health Emergencies” report, which evaluates global emergency response capacities of National Public Health Institutes (NPHI). The study highlights a stark international divide in the ability to translate lessons learned from crises into systemic improvements.

The report closely examines the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) units—specialized NPHI teams responsible for surveillance, risk assessment, and rapid deployment.
One of the report’s critical findings is a significant “income gap” in institutional learning. The report analyzed how consistently NPHIs implement recommendations derived from formal post-emergency reviews—a key measure of preparedness effectiveness.

According to the analysis, 57% of respondents from High-Income Countries (HICs) reported that they “always implement recommendations.” In sharp contrast, only 36% of NPHIs in Low-Income Countries (LICs) reported consistently implementing these necessary structural changes. Upper Middle-Income Countries (UMICs) showed a rate of 55%, underscoring that financial and technical resources play a decisive role in successfully institutionalizing lessons learned.

Call for Legal Authority and Sustained Investment

The report emphasizes that NPHIs must shift from reactive crisis management toward prevention-focused strategies and integrated surveillance systems. It also calls for NPHIs to secure clear legal mandates that empower them to issue transparent, consistent, and evidence-based guidance to policymakers without interference.

IANPHI further expressed concern that many countries have begun scaling back public health investment in the post-COVID-19 period. The report also emphasized that sustained funding in public health should be viewed as an "insurance premium"—a critical investment that protects population health, national economic security, and long-term prosperity.

For details: https://www.ianphi.org/_includes/documents/sections/tools-resources/ghec-highlights/ianphi_ghec-report.pdf