By Sola Ogundipe

In the face of current pressures due to poor funding, staff shortages, and inadequate preparation, health systems around the world are unfit to cope with another pandemic, an international survey to assess the effects of COVID-19 on health and care workers has revealed.

According to the survey commissioned by the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), the global health initiative of Qatar Foundation and conducted by YouGov, about half of the healthcare professionals surveyed in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Saudi Arabia, India, and Brazil, agreed that lack of preparation is one of the biggest threats facing their national health systems if another pandemic were to break out on the heels of COVID-19 in the next five years.

The research delved into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of health and care workers. It also attempted to understand the healthcare workers’ feelings about their workplace and profession while trying to explore what they foresee as the future of healthcare.

Looking at factors that leave global health systems vulnerable to failure in the event of a new pandemic, 60 per cent of healthcare professionals recognised lack of financial support, along with 55 per cent highlighted talent shortages as other major risk factors for health systems’ efficiency.

Additionally, 44 per cent stated an inability to properly support patients also poses a significant threat to their national health systems.

Sultana Afdhal, CEO of WISH said: “Our findings spotlight some of the critical challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced upon us over the last two years, and which those that care for us are still trying to mitigate today.

“As an advocate for a healthier world through global collaboration, we urge governments, industry leaders, and policymakers to take these insights and work towards building next-generation health systems that are better equipped to meet similar challenges in the future, in order to improve the standard of care and, crucially, to ease the burden felt by our healthcare workforce.

“The current pandemic has strained health systems to create urgent response measures such as increasing capacity, enhancing infection control, moving to remote models of care, and enabling mass vaccination, among others.

“There is a need to take stock of the challenges and for enablers to respond at a national level, as well as create opportunities for accelerating the sharing of strategies internationally,” Afdhal explained.

WISH is a global platform that gathers healthcare experts, policymakers, and innovators to unite with the goal of building a healthier world.  The biennial WISH Summit aims to showcase evidence-based research to translate findings into practical, policy-driven solutions that help transform global healthcare delivery.

The sixth edition of the summit holds October 4 – 6 in Doha, Qatar under the banner of “Healing the Future.” The summit will thoroughly explore the legacy of COVID-19 from various perspectives, including how to build more resilient and sustainable healthcare systems, and improve response to the mental health crisis faced by health and care workers, among others.