Nobody had expected that 2020 would be the year of humanity’s worst crisis since World War II. Yet experts had repeatedly warned of the risk of a pandemic for over a decade, urging leaders to prioritise preparedness efforts. The majority of them simply didn’t listen, and when the first case of COVID-19 emerged, the world wasn’t prepared for it.

COVID-19 will not be the last new disease to appear and take advantage of our interconnected world to flourish. What we’ve been going through this year could (and will) happen again if we don’t invest in pandemic preparedness and prevention. Our leaders must not fail us another time. They must act now to prepare for a brighter and more resilient future for everyone, everywhere.

Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from the G20 will be meeting this week. Here are three things they should commit to rid the world of COVID-19, deliver equitable access to innovations, and prevent future pandemics:

• Close the funding gap to meet the ACT-Accelerator needs. The overall costs for the ACT-Accelerator published on 26 June are set at $31.3bn for the next 12 months, with an urgent funding need of $13.7bn, which the world needs to raise as soon as possible for crucial upstream investments. It is vital to provide the ACT-Accelerator with the funding it needs to secure urgent COVID-19 tools like vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, invest in health systems strengthening and crucially get them to every corner of the world, regardless of personal or national wealth.
• Urgently provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to Africa CDC and other regional humanitarian hubs to ensure frontline access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other vital supplies in vulnerable countries with the greatest need.
• Commit to an urgent, time-bound, transparent and credible process for the adoption and full financing of a global compact for pandemic preparedness and prevention. Once and for all, we must break the deadly and costly cycle of panic and neglect that has left the world so vulnerable to pandemic threats. We urgently need a plan to ensure that every country has the capacity to detect, prevent and respond to future outbreaks before they become deadly and costly pandemics.

COVID-19 is strongly imperiling progress towards the SDGs. The G20 must act fast to put to the world back on track and ensure no one is left behind.