On January 26, 2021, G20 Members announced the formation of a High Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), partnering with Wellcome Trust, will serve as Administrative Secretariat for the Panel. NAM president Victor J. Dzau will act as an advisor.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global health crisis, which has in turn led to economic and social crises across the world. One major barrier is the absence of proactive, reliable, and sustainable financing for the global commons that are required for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Without appropriate financing solutions, the world will not be able to develop an effective and coordinated approach to managing future epidemics.
The Panel is tasked with:
- Identifying the gaps in the financing system for the global commons for pandemic prevention, surveillance, preparedness and response; and
- Proposing actionable solutions to meet these gaps on a systematic and sustainable basis, and to optimally leverage resources from the public, private and philanthropic sectors and the International Financial Institutions.
The Panel will build on the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) assessment of gaps in pandemic preparedness. The Panel’s work will align with the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness established by the WHO and other ongoing global preparedness and response initiatives.
“The G20 Panel on sustainable financing is an essential step toward defending human lives and livelihoods against the next global pandemic – and the next one after that,” said Dzau. “I am honored to support this important international effort.”
The Panel will be co-chaired by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Singapore; Lawrence Summers, Former United States Treasury Secretary; and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Former Finance and Foreign Minister, Nigeria. The complete list of Panel members is available here.
Media inquiries: Dana Korsen (dkorsen@nas.edu)
