How Philanthropists Can End the Cycle of Panic and Neglect for Disease Outbreaks

Coronavirus — a word most people had never heard only three weeks ago — has been identified in at least 19 countries and has sickened almost 12,000 people and killed 250.

Although scientists have identified other members of this virus family before, the 2019 coronavirus — 2019-nCoV for short — is a new strain. There is currently no specific treatment or vaccine available for this virus, but health workers and researchers all around the world are fervently working to treat, and determine how to prevent, 2019-nCov.

This coronavirus outbreak is hitting the world at time when the number of global outbreaks is on the rise. The World Health Organization, or WHO, responds to, on average, 200 outbreak events each year. Experts have been warning for many years that the world hasn’t prepared for another disease like the 1918 influenza outbreak, which killed more than 50 million people worldwide. And that enormous death toll took place in an era where global travel moved at a fraction of the current pace.

Two years ago, WHO spoke of “Disease X,” which “represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease.” And those same experts are now wondering if 2019-nCov is the Disease X they have been fearing.

So, given all the warnings, is the world prepared for this new virus? The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, a group of respected and experienced global-health leaders and experts, issued a statement just a few months ago that said, “For too long, we have allowed a cycle of panic and neglect when it comes to pandemics: We ramp up efforts when there is a serious threat, then quickly forget about them when the threat subsides. It is well past time to act.” The best way to stop an outbreak is for International agencies to invest early; but long-term investment is the best way to prevent an outbreak.

Ebola Outbreak

The last time the world was fearful of a major outbreak was six years ago, when Ebola broke out in West Africa, killing over 11,000 people and sickening more than 28,000. As public attention on Ebola grew, the world saw an unprecedented outpouring of support from American philanthropists, especially from those who made their money from the technology boom. Philanthropies started by Paul Allen, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Page cumulatively contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the Ebola response.

While philanthropies can’t solve the problem alone, the unique abilities they have provide instrumental support: For Ebola, the rapid deployment of resources from nimble philanthropies provided critical funds to aid groups responding to the epidemic before the larger, and slower, contributions from governments could be put to work.

Following that model, philanthropists who want to respond to 2019-nCov should consider investing in the CDC Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund, which supports the efforts by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop outbreaks at home and abroad. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation should be commended for leading the way with an initial $1 million contribution to the fund, but that is a tiny fraction of what is needed to get this outbreak under control.

It is also important to support the World Health Organization, which hosts the Contingency Fund for Emergencies and provides the WHO the resources to respond within the first 24 hours to outbreaks. The contingency fund notes that “the ability to respond quickly before other donor funding is mobilized can stop a health emergency from spiraling out of control, saving resources and lives.”

More to Come

Philanthropists who recognize that 2019-n-CoV is just the latest in a long line of outbreaks — 1918 influenza, 2002 SARS, 2014 Ebola — should consider making investments in critical efforts to ensure the world gets ahead of the next Disease X.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is a global partnership that was created following the Ebola outbreak to ensure that new vaccines were being developed in advance of the next outbreak. It has been working to create these products for other types of coronaviruses, and that has allowed organizations to get a jump-start on a response to a vaccine for 2019-n-CoV.

Another critical area for philanthropists to invest in is advocacy. No matter how many philanthropists engage in outbreak preparedness and response, their collective impact is dwarfed compared with the scale of government funding. Allocating philanthropic capital for advocacy to governments to prioritize these issues has the potential for a massive return on investment.

The cycle of panic and neglect needs to end. Philanthropic investment won’t solve the problem alone, but it can catalyze the type of partnerships, collaboration, and alignment needed to change the way the world views outbreak preparedness. And the world needs that now more than ever.