Advancing Cross-Border Pandemic Preparedness: Mexico’s Systemic and Cost-Effective Approach to Strengthening Early Warning, Surveillance, and Detection Systems through a One Health Framework

Background

Mexico was awarded US$25 million from the Pandemic Fund to strengthen its pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) capabilities, with an emphasis on regional collaboration and long-term sustainability. The grant mobilized an additional US$94.2 million in co-financing from the World Bank and US$71 million in co-investment from the government’s own budget. Additional partners include philanthropic and academic organizations such as the Fundación Mexicana para la Salud A.C., the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and the University of California-San Francisco (Institute of Health Sciences).

Mexico is eager to establish itself as a regional leader in pandemic PPR. To do so, it is working to overcome a number of public health challenges. More than 80% of the country's people live in dense urban areas, and the country is the site of frequent travel: of Mexicans living abroad, of visitors from around the world, and of migrants from Central America. Together, population density and mobility increase the potential for disease transmission, while also complicating surveillance efforts and healthcare delivery. Additionally, Mexico ranks seventh in the world in terms of animal protein production, which, given limited integration between the country’s human and veterinary surveillance systems, creates ideal conditions for the emergence of zoonotic diseases.

In light of Mexico’s zoonotic risk and in the spirit of the Pandemic Fund, the country’s project emphasizes multisectoral cooperation. It is led by the Ministry of Health, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Finance. The project’s implementing entity is the World Bank.

Project objectives

With the support of its project partners and the Pandemic Fund, Mexico aims to fortify its public health system and demonstrate how a middle-income country can mount a cost-effective, scalable response to pandemic threats.

Implementation arrangements and key components

Mexico’s project aligns with the Pandemic Fund’s priorities -- surveillance, laboratory systems, and workforce development – as well as core principles including sustainable financing, value for money, and transparency. More detail on the project’s components follows.

Enhancing surveillance. This portion of the project focuses on scaling the SISVE-AR wastewater network across cities, airports, migrant centers, and livestock hubs, expanding genomic and metagenomic surveillance, and enhancing event-based surveillance through digital data sources and AI tools. It also focuses on improving information-sharing among the country’s surveillance systems.

Upgrading laboratories. Activities in this area include expanding Biosafety Level 3 capacity at the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference, upgrading 32 state public health laboratories, and designing an integrated, national laboratory information system for pathogens affecting humans, animals, and the environment. Plans for mobile laboratories and regional collaboration are intended to expand diagnostic access and surge capacity.

Developing the public health workforce. CEMPRE will be Mexico’s main training center for pandemic PPR, offering modular, role-based curricula to more than 20,000 laboratory and frontline workers, with a focus on One Health. CEMPRE’s plans also include forging regional partnerships to extend the center’s reach.

Improving national, regional, and global coordination. A new Technical Working Group will be charged with overseeing multisectoral participation, strategic planning, risk assessments, and surveillance protocols.

Incentivizing investment in pandemic PPR. Activities in this area include developing a co-investment roadmap with subnational and social security institutions, as well as a private-sector fundraising strategy with the Fundación Mexicana para la Salud.

Making more efficient use of Pandemic Fund resources. Mexico plans to conduct a value-for-money assessment and establish real-time expenditure-tracking mechanisms.

As the project’s sole implementing entity, the World Bank will focus on technical support and monitoring and evaluation, in addition to other activities.

Expected outcomes

When completed, Mexico’s project is designed to:

Modernize the country’s surveillance systems with real-time data collection and reporting mechanisms spanning human, animal, and environmental health