Dr Duane J. Gubler is an emeritus professor and founding director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Signature Research Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, and chair of the Global Dengue and Aedes-Transmitted Diseases Consortium.
Global health agencies have spent 25 years helping countries prepare for pandemics but recent operational lapses, including for Covid-19, are a reminder that nations must prioritise funds for emergency response plans.