Investing in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response

If resources for public health and decision makers are limited, what are the highest-priority investments they can make? Drawing on the Disease Control Priorities report on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, in this Viewpoint we summarise our reflections and recommendations for the next decade in public health and focus on the highest return actions for pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response that countries can take to protect themselves and others. We identified 85 feasible national-level and local-level actions, categorising 40 of them as high-priority investments. At regional and global levels, we identified and recommend 33 high-priority actions. These investments could have pay-offs substantially exceeding their cost. Ensuring adequate funding will require countries to contribute according to their fiscal capacity, with some countries requiring external support. Importantly, financing response to an outbreak should be timely and therefore prearranged.