Financing for pandemic preparedness and response measures: a systematic scoping review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Economics
• Global Health Security

Background:

• The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic underscored significant shortfalls in financing for pandemic preparedness and response.
• Addressing these financial gaps is crucial to mitigate future pandemic risks and their associated socioeconomic costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify insights for reducing the financing shortfall for pandemic preparedness and response.
• To decrease the risk of future pandemics with severe social and economic consequences.

Main Methods:

• A systematic scoping review of articles published until August 1, 2023, was conducted.
• Studies were sourced from ScienceDirect, Scopus, JSTOR, PubMed®, and EconLit, categorized using the World Health Organization Council on the Economy of Health for All framework.

Main Results:

• Sixty articles were included, with most published after 2020 focusing on global financing mechanisms.
• Infrastructure and systems (e.g., health systems, financial markets) were the most frequently addressed elements (54/60).
• Root/structural causes, social positions, and communities/households/individuals were addressed in 25, 11, and 22 articles, respectively.

Conclusions:

• Significant gaps exist in defining pandemic preparedness and response, hindering accurate financing shortfall quantification.
• Further research is needed on targeting preparedness financing to vulnerable households.
• Analysis and feasibility evaluation of specific financial instruments for pandemic preparedness are lacking.