Much has been said about the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially by us at Pandemic Action Network — it comes with the territory. Much is worth repeating. The death toll was catastrophic — tens of millions of people died needlessly — 7 million officially from COVID and over 20 million when all ‘excess deaths’ are considered. In response, nationalism thrived, multilateralism all but died. Rich countries shamefully turned their backs on providing essential tests, treatments, and vaccines to developing countries. They did pool funding via the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator — but in the end, this was too little, too late. Today, we are witnessing the countless long-term impacts from economies and societies locking down and fracturing. 

Five years since lockdown, here are five reflections that are begging for action.

Pandemics are the ultimate geopolitical destabiliser. Arguably, COVID-19 intensified the isolation of Russia and Putin personally — providing quiet incubation time for a deadly plan while the world was distracted. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the international community was caught off-guard and has been left grappling with the fallout. Understanding COVID’s role in destabilizing geopolitics and enabling the return of war to European soil merits further study.

Prevention needs fiscal space too. Just as in 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit and governments mobilised funding to meet the need, EU governments today are making huge shifts to bolster defence in the face of an immediate threat. Leaders have again shown that when there is a crisis, money can be found and fiscal rules flexed. We also need increased fiscal space for long term prevention strategies, not just when crises hit. We must advocate for financial flexibility to enable investment in climate, health, and pandemics to prevent crises before they take hold. 

Outbreaks need swift action. Letting outbreaks go uncontained is a political choice, and we are seeing the consequences of these choices play out in real time. Among several challenges in the U.S., H5N1 is a significant one. Our report released at the end of 2024 charted the month-on-month neglect of the H5N1 outbreak in the U.S. last year, and the new administration has not yet appropriately tackled it. The gravity of the threat demands comprehensive action rather than a piecemeal strategy, and inconsistent reporting and staffing. African leaders are also grappling with converging health crises with inadequate international support — an ongoing mpox emergency across 22 African countries, the outbreak of Ebola Sudan virus in Uganda, a Marburg outbreak in Tanzania, and an impressively contained Marburg outbreak in Rwanda. All these outbreaks strain health systems at a time when conflict and the fallout from the U.S. foreign aid freeze is also impacting countries’ ability to deliver.

Remembrance supports action. In the summer of 2021, I spent time with friends in Thirsk in North Yorkshire, where a beautiful new commemorative seat had just been installed next to a war memorial. Many more people died during COVID than in the world wars — we too need our cultural monuments to our frontline heroes from the COVID fight. Groups like Marked by Covid in the U.S. and Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice in the U.K. have built memorials, but they have yet to translate to permanent national monuments and memorial days. We need official days of remembrance and cultural tributes globally to confront denialism and spur action.

Finding hope in chaos. All my colleagues, as well as my wider family and friends, have a story about how COVID affected them — lives lost and livelihoods affected. We are once again seeing rising threats that threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions — pandemic threats, climate threats — and threats to democracy. We cannot afford to succumb to a culture of fear and we must not lose sight of the practical and the possible. The people driving change, despite incredibly difficult circumstances, among PAN and RANA’s 400+ partners, and beyond, are the hope in the chaos.

Five years since COVID began, it’s time for a shift from crisis response to prevention.  Recognising pandemics as a geopolitical destabiliser can prompt governments to ease fiscal rules, unleashing billions for prevention before disaster strikes. Remembering all that was lost from COVID would help raise awareness that all new and future threats deserve full prevention, containment, and action. In these fractured times, our model of networked advocacy, whereby organisations crowd in to prioritise practical solutions is one of the best ways to deliver advocacy results. We need collective action now more than ever. Let’s look after each other, support great work across borders and communities, and win. It’s time.