Have we already forgotten the lessons of Covid-19?

How we respond to a pandemic is shaped by preparedness in peacetime. Some parts of the world are letting their guard down.

- Lisa Ng

Around the world, pandemic-era health funding and global aid for health programmes have declined. This deprioritisation matters because preparedness capabilities erode quietly, the writer says. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

(ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG)

Six years ago, in December 2019, the world first learnt of Covid-19. While the virus no longer dominates headlines, the conditions that foster pandemics have not disappeared. What has changed is our collective attention.

For over two decades, my work has focused on infectious diseases, much of it outside moments of crisis. While attention sharpens during outbreaks, preparedness is shaped in the long stretches between them, when momentum can quietly soften even as risks persist. Pandemics are not defeated by our reaction to the crisis when it hits us. Our response is shaped by years of sustained research, training a pipeline of talent, surveillance and collaboration. When these foundations weaken, we find ourselves scrambling to catch up.

This is why the recent launch of Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) is significant. It signals a serious, long-term commitment to public health preparedness and response. Strong institutions anchor accountability, coordination and national capability.

But preparedness does not reside in structure alone. Its effectiveness depends on whether scientific capabilities, operational systems and partnerships remain active and connected when there is no immediate crisis forcing alignment. This is where preparedness is most often tested, and where it is most vulnerable.

WHEN ATTENTION FLAGS