ISGlobal Unveils a Platform to Strengthen Health Systems’ Resilience to Global Emergencies

A working forum to lay the groundwork for the Research and Translation Platform for Prevention, Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Resilience of Health Systems in Global Health Emergencies (P3R3 Global) was held in Palau Macaya, Barcelona, on 21 January 2025. This initiative, led by the ISGlobal Preparedness Hub with support from the "la Caixa" Foundation, is chaired by Antoni Plasència, Distinguished Fellow and former Director General of ISGlobal.

The P3R3 Global Platform aims to develop and strengthen the preparedness and response capacities of health systems to address the major threats to global health, including infectious, environmental, and climate-related risks, with a particular focus on adaptation and resilience. The meeting brought together experts from academia, policy, and the health sector, representing both national and Catalan health systems, including specialists in primary care, hospital care, and public health.

“There is an urgent need to apply the lessons we’ve learned and act on the recommendations that have been put forward,” warned Quique Bassat, Director General of ISGlobal, during the event. “This is particularly critical in a context of polycrisis or permacrisis, which not only disperses fiscal and political resources but seems to have returned many countries to the pre-pandemic status quo,” he added.

Lessons from the pandemic and today’s challenges

Participants discussed the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of health system preparedness, prevention, response and resilience (PPRR), both nationally and globally. They stressed the importance of fostering communication and collaboration between key actors and sectors, and building shared and complementary knowledge and capacity. This is essential not only to better understand the available evidence, but also to identify and implement solutions that bridge the gaps between these stakeholders. Despite numerous academic and scientific initiatives aimed at generating evidence-based decision-making, international experience shows that such efforts rarely involve all relevant actors.

“We know that our current preparedness and response capacities are extensive and of high quality, but they are often fragmented, dispersed, and disconnected, which reduces their relevance and potential impact,” said Antoni Plasència. He reaffirmed ISGlobal’s commitment to leveraging its ability to mobilise and engage key stakeholders, “to foster a space for collaboration between science, policy and health systems, and to build the trust required to address the complexity and uncertainty of our times.”

Next steps for the P3R3 project

Participants highlighted the timeliness and significance of this initiative, identifying key areas of focus and contributing valuable insights for structuring and organising the platform.

In the coming months, the P3R3 Global project plans to expand the consultations to include experts, institutions, and community organisations with the aim of prioritising shared areas of work. Additionally, it intends to develop methodologies, tools, and processes for interdisciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration to strengthen the resilience of health systems against global risks and emergencies.