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Rhodes Policy Summit: Creating A Positive Legacy from the Pandemic

With public and political interest in pandemic preparedness at risk, the inaugural Rhodes Policy Summit that took place in April 2023 asked how we can ensure we have equitable and practical measures in place to prepare us for the next global health crisis.

Policy Summit 2023
Policy Summit
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"What we can do today looks completely different from what we could do 10 years ago."

- Sir John Bell, (Alberta & Magdalen 1975) Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford ​

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Forum Highlights

Breaking the cycle of panic to neglect with an Always On approach. Some of the most influential voices in global health discussed how we can use the lessons of COVID-19 to bolster our defences against future pandemic threats. With public and political interest in preparedness at risk, the inaugural Rhodes Policy Summit asked how can we ensure we have equitable and practical measures in place to prepare us for the next global health crisis.

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How can we prevent the next pandemic?

How can we prevent the next pandemic?

Having just lived through a pandemic is no guarantee that we won’t face another similar crisis. The consensus is that another pandemic is highly likely. The inaugural Rhodes policy summit aimed to bring together leading experts from around the world to consider what we should do to identify and prevent pandemics before they occur. This is a take on some of the things we learned.

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Impact Report

Impact Report

For the Rhodes Trust, a philanthropic organisation committed to investing in lifelong fellowships of people committed to tackling the world’s great challenges, this inaugural Policy Summit was an opportunity to ignite the power of convening across traditional boundaries and to drive collaboration for impact.

Read the Impact Report

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Over half of the UK think politicians aren’t taking the threat of the next pandemic seriously, new poll finds

Over half of the UK think politicians aren’t taking the threat of the next pandemic seriously, new poll finds

The majority of the UK public is concerned that British politicians aren’t doing enough to prepare for the next pandemic, polling data from the Rhodes Trust and YouGov released today shows.

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UK Independent SAGE

UK Independent SAGE

Helene-Mari Van Der Westhuizen presented the results of the summit to the UK Independent SAGE committee on 28 April 2023.

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Summit Handbook

Summit Handbook

See the list of speakers and sessions

Impact

  • This includes incorporating this approach into priority setting by the World Bank. It was also discussed at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. At this meeting, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, announced that the Global Health Security Consortium will conduct pilots using the Always On approach in three countries with country partners and is sourcing funding to support these initiatives.

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  • Rwanda has pledged support for an exemplar pilot in the country, that looks at translating some of the novel ideas for delivering adult vaccines and linking this with pathogen surveillance in implementation projects. The Global Health Security Consortium have committed to leading the global Always On efforts with dedicated staff time from directors, advisors, managers and associates.

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  • One example is between researchers and government officials from Scotland and Rwanda in developing a research proposal to evaluate the implementation of an Always On approach to delivering respiratory vaccines to adults. A second example is an opinion piece that was developed by Nina Acharya (Rhodes scholar-in-residence, Ontario & Somerville 2020), Dave Chokshi (Health Commissioner of New York during the COVID-19 pandemic, Louisiana & Trinity 2003) Mia Malan (Editor of Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism, speaker at the Policy Summit) and Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen (Paul Roos Gymnasium & Green Templeton 2018, Rhodes Trust Fellow in Global Health). This was a collaboration focused on building trust in pandemic preparedness policy that brought intergenerational learning and mentorship opportunities.

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  • A key finding was that nearly three-quarters (73%) of people in the UK think governments should be doing more to work with other governments to provide an early warning of threats from diseases around the world. An opinion piece by Sir John Bell described the contributions that the Always On approach can make to a public audience. The Policy Summit received total press coverage of 380 pieces and recordings are available on Youtube.

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Videos​

Keynote addresses from Sir John Bell and Tony Blair can be found below. The full list of recordings is on YouTube.

Welcome from Professor Sir John Bell

Welcome and introduction to the ‘Always On’ agenda for the summit from Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford and Chair of the Rhodes Trustees.

Geopolitics and the COVID-19 pandemic response with Tony Blair

Tony Blair (Executive Chairman, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and Former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) talks about Geopolitics and the COVID-19 pandemic response: How do we keep political attention and drive action on the Pandemic Prevention agenda?

Supporting Public Trust in Science and Pandemic Policy Delivery

Misinformation and mistrust in pandemic prevention policies played a major role in whether preventative measures for COVID-19 were used. In this session we will discuss the roots of mistrust in pandemic prevention policy and interventions and mechanisms for earning the trust of communities in the scientific process. We will also develop actionable steps to ensure we are better prepared to communicate effectively about future health risks.

Media

‘The next pandemic is coming and we’re not ready’, top scientists warn
The Independent, 16 April 2023

The next pandemic is coming – and the world isn’t ready
The Independent, 16 April 2023

True origins of Covid may never be revealed, says Chinese doctor there 'at the very beginning'
The Telegraph, 14 April 2023

US should have attacked COVID like a foreign invasion, experts say. Have we learned any lessons?
USA Today, 25 April 2023

The fine line between wrong and almost right — and how that plays out during pandemics
Bhekisisa, 18 October 2023

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