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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Public Health Policy

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1653111

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancing Public Health Preparedness and Response in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Challenges, Opportunities, and Ways Forward – Insights from the 8th EMPHNET Regional ConferenceView all 3 articles

Pandemic Preparedness and Response in the EMR: Adapting Lessons Learnt from Pandemics for Tomorrow

Provisionally accepted
Deema Al BakriDeema Al Bakri1*Andreas JansenAndreas Jansen2Edmund NewmanEdmund Newman3Jonathan E. SukJonathan E. Suk4Rana Jawad AsgharRana Jawad Asghar5Merabet MouadMerabet Mouad6Soha AlbayatSoha Albayat7Yousef KhaderYousef Khader8Haitham BashierHaitham Bashier9Magid Al-GunaidMagid Al-Gunaid9Mohannad Al NsourMohannad Al Nsour9
  • 1The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), Amman, Jordan
  • 2Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany
  • 3UK Health Security Agency East of England, Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • 4European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Solna, Sweden
  • 5Global Health Strategists & Implementers, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • 6World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
  • 7Ministry of Health, Doha, Qatar
  • 8Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
  • 9Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network, Amman, Jordan

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The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) faces significant public health challenges due to the increasing frequency and impact of pandemics, natural disasters, and ongoing political instability. Despite progress in areas such as vaccination rates, surveillance, and laboratory capacities, gaps in pandemic preparedness persist, underscoring the need for comprehensive, multi-sectoral strategies. The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) organized a roundtable during its Eighth Regional Conference to examine key aspects of pandemic preparedness and response, focusing on lessons learned from recent health crises like COVID-19.The session highlighted critical themes, including the importance of sustainable investments in preparedness, addressing health workforce shortages, fostering multisectoral collaboration, and prioritizing equity. Panelists and participants emphasized the necessity of trust-building and community engagement as foundational elements for effective health interventions. Discussions also explored innovative frameworks, such as the WHO's Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) initiative, which integrates adaptable and transmission-based approaches.The roundtable concluded with a call for stronger leadership, enhanced governance, and institutionalized learning mechanisms to ensure that lessons from past crises are effectively integrated into future strategies. By transitioning from reactive responses to proactive preparedness, the EMR can build resilient health systems capable of managing future public health emergencies and advancing regional and global health security.

Keywords: Emergency Preparadness, Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), COVID-19, Multi-sectoral collaboration, health systems resilience

Received: 24 Jun 2025; Accepted: 24 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Al Bakri, Jansen, Newman, Suk, Asghar, Mouad, Albayat, Khader, Bashier, Al-Gunaid and Al Nsour. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Deema Al Bakri, The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), Amman, Jordan

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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