The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has published an assessment calling for OECD countries to invest an estimated USD 7.1 billion annually in purchasing power parity terms, or USD 5.9 per person, to establish core pandemic preparedness and response systems. Its modeling indicates that an unmitigated outbreak could exhaust critical care capacity within one to two months and reduce GDP over nine months by 2.7% in a coronavirus-like scenario and 16.2% in a measles-like scenario. The OECD recommends a layered response that begins with infection prevention measures and quarantine, then adds teleworking and domestic travel restrictions as needed. This approach could avert most deaths, hold GDP losses to about 2.5% in most modeled scenarios and often avoid school closures, international travel restrictions and lockdowns. Priority investments include personal protective equipment and hygiene stockpiles, systems for implementing non-pharmaceutical interventions, and combined clinical and wastewater surveillance, which could enable earlier action and reduce deaths and lockdown duration.
2026-09-15OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development calls for USD 7.1 billion in annual pandemic preparedness investment
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that OECD countries need USD 7.1 billion annually in purchasing power parity terms to establish core pandemic preparedness systems. It recommends layered early interventions, essential supply stockpiles and combined clinical and wastewater surveillance to prevent deaths, contain economic losses and reduce reliance on lockdowns.