The Pandemic Fund

by: Priya Basu, Executive Head, the Pandemic Fund
 

Earlier this month, ministers of health and finance, leaders of international organizations, philanthropies and civil society from around the world gathered in Tokyo for the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) High-Level Forum to discuss the future of health. During the Forum, I had the opportunity to highlight the vital link between UHC and pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR)—a connection that is central to building resilient health systems, yet too often remains at the margins of broader UHC conversations. UHC 2030 and pandemic PPR are not parallel agendas—they are fundamentally interdependent. A health system that can deliver essential services to everyone without financial hardship is the same system that must be able to detect, prevent, and respond to disease outbreaks before they spiral out of control. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 by 2030 therefore depends not only on expanding access to care, but on building resilient, primary care–anchored health systems that protect populations from everyday health needs and extraordinary health threats alike. Yet progress on both fronts remains off-track, with billions still lacking coverage and health shocks continuing to expose the fragility of systems worldwide.

This reality underscores a simple but powerful truth: health security is national security—and when nations are secure, the world is secure. One of the greatest risks to health security in Africa, and in low-income and fragile settings globally, is weak capacity to detect and contain infectious disease outbreaks. Recent outbreaks—Marburg in Ethiopia, Ebola in DRC and Uganda, dengue in Latin America and the Caribbean, and in Samoa, and rising Avian Influenza detections across several countries—highlight how frequently new and re-emerging pathogens are appearing, reminding us that infectious disease threats are constant and unpredictable.

Investing in surveillance, testing, and early detection—particularly at the primary healthcare level—is therefore a foundational pillar of both UHC and PPR. Early detection prevents transmission, saves lives, and reduces economic disruption. Just as importantly, it strengthens health systems in ways that ensure no one is left behind, reinforcing trust in frontline services and protecting the most vulnerable.

Momentum toward advancing the UHC 2030 agenda is encouraging. But as countries work to end preventable maternal and child deaths, tackle epidemics, reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases, and provide financial protection, it is essential that pandemic preparedness remains central. Epidemics are a core UHC target for a reason. Failure to rapidly detect and contain emerging pathogens risks wiping out gains in service coverage, financial protection, and human development.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a stark lesson. When countries are unprepared, health systems are disrupted, economies collapse, and progress toward UHC stalls. Hard-won advances in education, nutrition, and poverty reduction are reversed—often in a matter of months.

As the world looks toward 2030, countries must lead. International financing must be better coordinated, used strategically to catalyze domestic resources, and delivered on-budget rather than through parallel systems. This approach enables governments to set priorities, strengthen institutions, and fill the most critical gaps in ways that are sustainable over the long term.

This is where the Pandemic Fund offers important lessons. Its country-led model directs resources to priorities identified by countries themselves and delivers financing through national systems. It is catalytic: for every dollar awarded, the Fund has already leveraged seven dollars in co-financing from international and domestic partners. It also actively promotes coordination among global actors and supports multisectoral and cross-country collaboration.

Thanks to this approach, the Pandemic Fund now has a US$7 billion portfolio across 75 low- and middle-income countries  Many of these countries—including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Zambia—are also advancing national health compacts and reforms aimed at accelerating progress toward UHC. Pandemic Fund-supported  investments are strengthening primary care and the foundations of public health  by training healthcare workers—community health workers, doctors, nurses, veterinarians, field epidemiologists, and lab technicians—while expanding point-of-care diagnostics, improving infectious disease surveillance and digital data sharing, and building or upgrading laboratories within and across countries.

Significant progress has been made, but much more remains to be done. These investments cannot wait. The next outbreak with pandemic potential will not wait for us. Strengthening pandemic preparedness today is essential to achieving UHC 2030—and to securing a healthier, safer future for all.