Preparing for pandemics needs a dose of public health and a booster of “complex thought” (Errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum)
| Published date | 01 November 2024 |
| Author | Elisabeth Paul,Garrett W. Brown,David Bell,Valéry Ridde,Joachim Sturmberg |
| Date | 01 November 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.13449 |
Global Policy. 2024;15:96 9–97 8.
|
969
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gpol
It is no longer a matter of obeying a prin-
ciple of order (excluding disorder), of clar-
ity (excluding obscurity), of distinction
(excluding adherences, participations and
communications), of disjunction (excluding
subject, antinomy, complexity), that is to
say a principle which ties scienc e to logi-
cal simplification. On the contrar y, starting
from a principle of complexity, it is a matter
of linking what was disjointed.
Edgar Morin—The Challenge of
Complexity (Morin,2022)
1 | LEARNING FROM COVID- 19
ERRORS
The COVID- 19 pandemic has triggered unprece-
dented governmental responses worldwide, reveal-
ing weaknesses in health systems (Paul et al.,2020,
2022) and policies not previously used at scale or
recommended for epidemic res ponse (World Health
Organization,2019). Understanding their impact is par-
ticularly important now as the pan demic preparedness
and response (PPR) agenda is enshrining such re-
sponses through the World Health Organization ( WHO)
POLICY ANALYSIS
Preparing for pandemics needs a dose of public health
and a booster of “complex thought” (Errare humanum est,
perseverare diabolicum)
ElisabethPaul1 | Garrett W.Brown2 | DavidBell3 | ValéryRidde4 |
JoachimSturmberg5
Received: 19 June 2024
|
Revised: 2 Septem ber 2024
|
Accepted: 2 Septe mber 2024
DO I: 10 .1111/17 58- 589 9.13 449
This is an open ac cess article under t he terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which perm its use and distributi on in
any medium, provi ded the original work is p roperly cited, the use i s non-commercial a nd no modifications o r adaptations are made.
© 2024 The Author(s). Global Policy published by D urham University and Jo hn Wiley & Sons Ltd.
1Research Center on H ealth Policies &
Systems – International Health, School
of Public Health , Université Libre de
Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
2Global Health T heme, University of
Leeds, Leeds, UK
3Independent Public Health Consultant,
Lake Jackson, Texas, USA
4Institut de Rec herche Pour le
développemen t (IRD), INSERM, CEPED,
Université Paris C ité, Paris, France
5College of Heal th, Medicine and
Wellbeing, Unive rsity of Newcastle,
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Correspondence
Elisabeth Paul, Re search Center on
Health Polici es & Systems – International
Health, Scho ol of Public Health, Univer sité
Libre de Bruxell es, Campus Erasme,
Route de Lennik 80 8, CP 591, 1070
Brussels, Belgium.
Email: elisabeth.paul@ulb.be
Abstract
The COVID- 19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented governmental responses
worldwide, revealing weaknesses in health systems and public health po licies
due to lack of “complex thought” re quired to manage complex adaptive sys-
tems. Understanding COVID- 19 response strategies' multiple effects is par-
ticularly important now that pande mic preparedness and response (PPR) is on
top of the global health political agen da. Here, we adopt a complex adaptive
systems approach to critically analyze the literature and draw lesson s from the
COVID- 19 response to inform future PPR strategies. We observe that in many
contexts, strategies implemented in response to COVID- 19 were poorly effec-
tive, inefficient, and inequitable. We explain the limitation s of these prevailing
measures and propose approaches and strategies to m anage pandemics arising
from a “systems thinking” perspect ive. PPR demands the adoption of an evolv-
ing, evidenced- informed, and context- spe cific strategy based on comprehen-
sive approaches reflecting the compl exities of health crises. This means moving
away from single- focused heal th security paradigms to consider the full range
of health problems facing populations and ad opting a package of interventions
chosen via participator y and deliberative processes that are context- specific and
sensitive, as well as evidence- driven, to ensure a fair balance between various
pillars of pandemic responses: health promoti on, non- pharmaceut ical interven-
tions, prophylaxis, vaccines, and treatments.
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting