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Hospital front liners that consist of a nurse and security guards wear personal protective equipments as they man the entrance of the emergency room in the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center in Tondo, Manila on March 24, 2020. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File

Hospital front liners that consist of a nurse and security guards wear personal protective equipments as they man the entrance of the emergency room in the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center in Tondo, Manila on March 24, 2020. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Hospital front liners 

Raphael Bosano

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177691961068620200324-ppe-health-workers-tondo-GC-3094.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Hospital front liners that consist of a nurse and security guards wear personal protective equipments as they man the entrance of the emergency room in the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center in Tondo, Manila on March 24, 2020. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span>LYON, France — The world may have moved on from COVID-19, but scientists say the next global health crisis is no longer a distant possibility—it is inevitable.</div><p>Speaking to ABS-CBN News following the One Health Summit in Lyon, France, virologist Bruno Lina said humanity is bound to see another pathogen spread across the globe.</p><p>&quot;There will be another pandemic. It&#x27;s not a question of will there be, it&#x27;s a question of when. We don&#x27;t know when, but there will be another pandemic,&quot; said Lina, president of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1.</p><p>COVID-19 may be the most disruptive pandemic in recent memory, but it is far from being the only one.</p><p>The 1918 Spanish Flu infected a third of the global population. Influenza outbreaks in 1957 and 1968 followed. In 2009, the &quot;milder&quot; H1N1 swine flu spread worldwide. </p><p>The lesson, Lina said, is simple: pandemics differ in scale, but their occurrence is constant.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2025/5/21/philippines-other-nations-adopt-who-pandemic-agreement-but-what-s-inside-0930">Philippines, other nations adopt WHO pandemic agreement but what’s inside?</a></div><p>Fortunately, experts have and are continuously improving vaccines that can protect individuals from developing serious infections. </p><p>In the case of COVID, Lina said mRNA vaccines have long been researched even before the coronavirus spread across the world, stressing how long-term investment in science made swift vaccine development possible.</p><p>More importantly, pathogen data sharing is also seen as something that could greatly improve the world&#x27;s response for what the World Health Organization is calling &quot;disease X.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PANDEMIC AGREEMENT</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In 2025, member states of the World Health Organization adopted the Pandemic Agreement at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. The international treaty aims to strengthen global prevention, preparedness and response to future pandemics.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2025/5/21/how-will-a-country-like-ph-benefit-from-recently-adopted-pandemic-agreement-1810">How will a country like PH benefit from recently-adopted Pandemic Agreement?</a></div><p>Among its key aspects is allowing countries fair access to vital information and data on pathogens as well as vaccines and treatments. Such access to information provides governments the opportunity to act and prevent the spread of illnesses with pandemic potential.</p><p>For this to be fully realized, countries are encouraged to embark on a &quot;One Health&quot; approach, which acknowledges that no country can ever fully take care of human health, without taking into consideration the health of animals and the environment.</p><p>The Pandemic Agreement’s adoption occurred at a time when the Philippines held the presidency of the WHA. But Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson Albert Domingo admitted that some annexes of the agreement were yet to be finalized. </p><p>The Philippines is part of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement that continues to engage in talks with other countries especially in terms of information sharing and access.</p><p>&quot;Masalimuot yung usapin dahil maraming mga bansa ang nagsasabi, dapat ang ating pathogen na information, kung saan man yung disease X, dapat agarang din ibigay sa lahat ng mga bansa para makapaggawa ng bakuna,&quot; Domingo said.</p><p>(It’s a complicated discussion because a lot of countries are saying that pathogen information, wherever disease X may be found, should immediately be given to countries so that they can make vaccines.)</p><p>Others argue that if they provide such data, they should be guaranteed free access to resulting vaccines and treatments.</p><p>The Philippines, Domingo said, is pushing for equitable access. &quot;Tayo ay pumapanig doon sa open access. Sas mabilis na mapipigilan ang pagkalat ng isang disease X,&quot; he said.</p><p>(We favor open access. When information is accessed sooner, countries can act faster to prevent the spread of disease X.)</p><p>The World Health Assembly is once again scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland in May.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WHY &#x27;ONE HEALTH&#x27; MATTERS MORE THAN EVER</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Underlying the agreement is a broader shift in thinking, the &quot;One Health&quot; approach.</p><p>It recognizes that human health is deeply connected to animals and the environment — an idea gaining urgency as climate change, deforestation, and urban expansion increase the risk of new diseases.</p><p>For Lina, the virologist, preparedness is not just about technology.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a matter of reorganizing things. It&#x27;s a matter of understanding processes. And so what should the low and middle income countries do to address the questions of one health is maybe not driven by technology but by behavior,&quot; he said.</p><p>That includes how societies interact with nature whether through land use, agriculture, or wildlife exposure. Protecting ecosystems, he added, could be one of the most effective ways to prevent future outbreaks.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>SYSTEMS IN PLACE IN PHILIPPINES</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The DOH said the country is better equipped than it was before COVID.</p><p>Now, facilities continue to be improved, including testing capacity through the wide use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests that allow the swift identification of pathogens.</p><p>The Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), a collegiate body tasked to steer the country through the threats of pathogens, is also something that can be activated should the need arise.</p><p>&quot;Ito yung incident command. Sa madaling salita, may nagtitimon, may nagsasabi na pag health ang pinag-uusapan, siya ang masusunod at ito ang ginagawa. Standard operating procedure yan sa lahat ng ating mga emergencies,&quot; Domingo said.</p><p>(This is the incident command. In other words, it leads and directs. It’s standard operating procedure for all health emergencies.)</p><p>The Philippines endured one of the longest lockdowns in the world, drawing criticism over its economic and social impact.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/11/timeline-the-coronavirus-disease-crisis-in-the-philippines-1450">TIMELINE: The coronavirus disease crisis in the Philippines</a></div><p>For experts, preparedness now is not just about infrastructure but clarity, coordination, and public trust.</p><p>Even as countries negotiate frameworks and refine systems, the next pandemic may already be taking shape somewhere.</p><p>Years after COVID-19 brought the global economy to a halt, the warning from scientists remains unchanged: another pandemic will come.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RYUv3vZOSyc?&amp;t=99s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5D7Bm8Y3P2M?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The world may have moved on from COVID-19, but scientists say the next global health crisis is no longer a distant possibility—it is inevitable.</p>

The world may have moved on from COVID-19, but scientists say the next global health crisis is no longer a distant possibility—it is inevitable.

Next pandemic is 'inevitable': What it means for the Philippines

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Next pandemic is 'inevitable': What it means for the Philippines

Raphael Bosano,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 23, 2026 02:00 PM PHT

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Pandemic

One Health

Department of Health

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