Global groups propose strategy to tackle ongoing COVID risks

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and three global health partners today proposed a strategy to manage future risk from COVID, factoring in different scenarios on how the pandemic could evolve and setting ambitious price tags that would enable key policies to take shape.Bracing for an uncertain COVID futureAt a briefing today, the IMF and officials from the three groups unveiled the new strategy and its funding goals.

The other groups are the Wellcome Trust, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Global Fund.The strategy, spelled out in a 26-page report, was posted today on the IMF's website.Gita Gopinath, the IMF's first deputy managing director, said though it's uncertain how the pandemic will unfold, it's clear that the virus will be a long-term problem. "And given the limited resources countries have, we need a new strategy," she said, adding that countries need more comprehensive tools for battling COVID, including tests, vaccines, and treatments, as well as stronger health systems that are better positioned to battle the virus and a number of other diseases.She said health security is strongly tied to economic security, adding that the IMF's latest estimate in January put the cumulative global loss from the pandemic at $13.8 trillion.Given the lingering drag on the economy, Gopinath said the groups are calling for $15 billion in grants this year to fund the strategy, along with $11 billion per year after that to keep the plans going.Richard Hatchett, MD, CEPI's executive director, said the investments in pandemic preparedness is substantial. "But failure to invest now—and build on the gains made in the response to COVID-19—will result in human and economic costs that will reverberate