ABSTRACT
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 6.9 million people had died from COVID-19 as of May 2023. While vaccines were rolled out in record time, only 30 per cent of people in low-income countries had received at least one dose of the vaccine by that date, according to Our World in Data. While we can laud many scientific advancements, the COVID-19 experience shows the huge inequalities that still exist across and within countries and societies. The pandemic has also demonstrated lack of financing, as well as the insufficiency of systems without leadership and governance without trust and accountability. This chapter reflects on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, including how formal and informal rules governing the global health architecture influenced the pandemic response. While the pandemic revealed gaps in current surveillance systems across the world, it also underscored the importance of integrated and collaborative surveillance and public health intelligence, including digital innovations. Lastly, the chapter reviews how the pandemic gave us lessons on the innovative financing needed and broad proposals to ensure that the world is more prepared for future pandemics – particularly in the realm of global health governance.
