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GENEVA: Despite progress made since the Zika and Ebola crises, a report released today by the International Working Group on Financing Preparedness (IWG), established by the World Bank, shows that most countries are not adequately prepared for a pandemic, and the world is still doing too little to finance recommended actions to strengthen pandemic preparedness.

The report, entitled From Panic and Neglect to Investing in Health Security: Financing Pandemic Preparedness at a National Level, lays out 12 recommendations to ensure the adequate financing of the capabilities and infrastructure required to prevent, identify, contain, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.

Many countries chronically underinvest in critical public health functions like disease surveillance, diagnostic laboratories, and emergency operations centers, which enable the early identification and containment of outbreaks. So far, 37 countries have completed the rigorous peer-reviewed assessments, called the Joint External Evaluation (JEE), of their preparedness capacities to identify their gaps and needs. But that leaves 162 countries that have not. Moreover, only two of the countries that have completed this assessment have used the results to devise costed plans. The report urges national governments to prioritize financing preparedness in their domestic budgets, as should international donors.

Not investing enough in pandemic preparedness puts lives at risk and is bad economics.

A severe pandemic could result in millions of deaths and cost trillions of dollars, and even smaller outbreaks can cost thousands of lives and cause immense economic damage. The most conservative estimates suggest that pandemics destroy 0.1 to 1.0 percent of global GDP, on par with other global threats such as climate change. Recent economic work suggests that the annual global cost of moderately severe to severe pandemics is roughly $570 billion, or 0.7 percent of global income.

“Preparedness at a national level is the first line of defense against pandemic threats, and thus the foundation of universal health security. Yet we have underinvested in the capabilities and infrastructure essential for preparedness,” said Peter Sands, former CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, who is Chair of the IWG and now a Senior Fellow at Harvard University. “Given the scale of risk to human lives and livelihoods, the investment case for financing preparedness is compelling. We must make it happen.”

Pandemic preparedness prevents, detects, and responds to the spread of disease both in humans and in livestock that have close contact with humans. The last 30 years have seen a steady increase in the frequency and diversity of disease outbreaks. Just in the last few weeks, for example, Ebola has resurfaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for the eighth time, with four possible deaths and 43 possible cases identified as of May 23. Importantly, DRC has had a strong track record of containing previous outbreaks.

“Pandemics can strike anywhere, and everyone is at risk – especially the poor and the vulnerable,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “We must finally break the cycle of panic and neglect in our response to grave threats from infectious diseases. We have to ensure we are prepared, so the next outbreak does not become the next pandemic.”

Failing to invest in preparedness is especially short-sighted given the low cost of preparedness relative to the devastating impact of a pandemic. In low- and middle-income countries that have calculated the cost of financing preparedness, the investment required is about $1 per person per year.

“Countries and international development partners all need to recognize the seriousness of pandemics and do their part to pay for preparedness,” said Recep Akdağ, Minister of Health of the Republic of Turkey. “If we don’t do this now, we will find ourselves losing decades of health and economic gains when we are hit with an infectious disease outbreak.”

The IWG, established in November 2016, puts forward 12 far-reaching recommendations, including getting all national governments to commit to conducting assessment of preparedness and animal health capacities by the end of 2019; ensuring the results of these assessments are translated into costed action plans, supported by financing proposals and investment cases; reinforcing tax resources, including earmarked taxes, to finance preparedness; ensuring donors fulfill their commitments, focusing development assistance on large one-off capital expenses that countries cannot afford, on regional initiatives and on fragile states; and ensuring the economic risks of infectious diseases are factored into macroeconomic assessments and investment decision-making, like other systemic risks are.

“Outbreak preparedness is chronically under-funded, and we have been waiting for bold thinking on financing since at least the mid-nineties,” said Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). “Implementing the IWG recommendations will ensure that every country mobilizes the resources necessary to prevent, detect, and respond to future outbreaks.”

The ultimate goal of robust pandemic preparedness is universal health security, which means protecting all people from threats to their health. Universal health security is an essential component of universal health coverage–where everyone can obtain the quality health services they need, while not being pushed into poverty by having to pay out-of-pocket for health care costs. Universal health security contributes to and depends on stronger and more resilient health systems, and is critical to achievement of the sustainable development goals.

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Home » Islamabad

ISLAMABAD:Continuing with its tradition, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan KSA Committee of Members (ICAP KSA), organized the Fifth Annual Saudi-Pak Accountancy Symposium at the prestigious Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh recently.

The theme of this year’s Symposium was “Vision 2030: Role of the Finance Profession”. The Chief Guest on the occasion was His Excellency, Mr. Tareq Al Sadhan, Director General, General Authority of Zakat & Tax (GAZT), says a press release received here on Sunday from Riyadh.

Other high profile guests and speakers included, Vice Admiral (r) Khan Hasham Bin Saddique, Ambassador of Pakistan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Ahmad Almeghames, Secretary General of Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) and Mr. Nadeem Yousuf Adil, President of ICAP.

The Chief Guest Tareq Al Sadhan, Director General, GAZT, said that “soon the detailed legislation for VAT will be issued. He also said that GAZT is open to any suggestions from professionals like you”.

Speaking on the occasion, the newly appointed Ambassador of Pakistan to KSA, remarked that “It was indeed a privilege to witness the august gathering of Finance professionals and the Pakistan Embassy is committed to continue with the patronage of the ICAP KSA Committee.

He also emphasized that “the Saudi and Pakistani accountancy professionals will continue to foster the spirit of sharing and learning, especially in the backdrop of opportunities that Vision 2030 has bestowed, which along with CPEC will Insha’Allah bring increased economic prosperity to the two brotherly countries”.

Dr. Ahmad Almeghames, Secretary General of SOCPA, Special Guest, dwelled upon the topic of “Accountancy Profession and Vision 2030”.

He highlighted that the Vision 2030 poses a big challenge for the Finance Professionals and hoped that they will meet the expectations gracefully. We as SOCPA are delighted to work with ICAP for the past six years with valuable contribution to the profession in the Kingdom.”

Mr. Nadeem Yousuf Adil, President of ICAP mentioned that “ICAP alongwith its KSA Chapter is proud to partner with SOCPA in achieving the Saudi Vision 2030 by organizing professional events in KSA and supporting SOCPA in their major projects”.

The extensive agenda of the Symposium also shed light on two important topics currently making headlines in the local media, namely: Transition to IFRS in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and VAT.

The panel session on IFRS transition was very well received by the audience and agreed with the conclusion that the professional skill is vital for effectively applying the principle-based approach to financial reporting.

Panellists and moderator were Fawaz Al-Fawaz, Global CFO TASNEE, Khalil Al-Sedais, Partner, KPMG Al-Fozan & Partners, Ahmed Abdelfattah, Director Assurance, Ernst & Young, Riyadh, Yves Graf, Head of Corporate Finance Almarai Group and Moderator, Moazam Ali Shah, Group CFO, Al Zamil Industry, Trade & Transport, KSA.

The panel session on VAT in the Kingdom was a very interactive that focused on the pre-requisites of the VAT implementation as well as the implications and the impact on the business in the Kingdom. Panellists and moderator were Alhaitham A.

Al-Ghothami, Economic Advisor, General Authority of Zakat & Tax, Nauman Ahmed, Tax Partner, Deloitte &Touche (ME), Chadi Abou-Chakra, Director Indirect Tax and Fiscal Policy, PWC, KSA, Irfan Jawaid Nagi, Group CFO, Tanmiah Foods Group and Moderator, Adnan Mufti, Tax Partner, Moore Stephens Shekha& Mufti.

Mr Tim Douglas gave a very interesting presentation on “Business Failure: Prediction and Prevention”. On this occasion, ICAP KSA bestowed the awards for the Most Valued Contribution to the Profession (MVCP)Mr. Tareq Al Sadhan, Director General, GAZT and Mr. Asher Noor, Group CFO and Chief Investment Officer of Al-Touq Group.

The Institutes, organizers and participants lauded their dedication and worthy contribution to the profession of accountancy and congratulated them on receiving the illustrious MVCP awards.

The Symposium ended with a workshop on VAT where detailed presentations were given by Mr Adnan Mufti, Tax Partner, Shekha& Mufti and Syed Asif Zaman, President ICAP UAE Chapter.

Concluding remarks were given by Sarmad Khan, Chairman ICAP Overseas Committee followed by a vote of thanks by Mr. Mohammad Iqbal, President ICAP KSA. Master of Ceremony of the Symposium was Mr Abdullah Akbar, senior member of ICAP and Senior Director KPMG Jeddah.

The symposium was attended by over 300 accountancy professionals; among them were business leaders, CFO’s of leading corporates, senior partners of audit firms, SOCPA members and a large fraternity of members of ICAP.

For the first time, ICAP KSA arranged live streaming of the Symposium which had a very active viewership of over 5000 through the website of ICAP KSA and mobile applications on Android and IOS.

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Home » Islamabad

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