

The players’ responses to the scenario illuminated the need for cooperation among industry, national governments, key international institutions, and civil society, to avoid the catastrophic consequences that could arise from a large-scale pandemic. Recent economic studies show that pandemics will be the cause of an average annual economic loss of 0.7% of global GDP-or $570 billion. The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, World Economic Forum, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation jointly propose these recommendations. These issues were carefully designed in a compelling narrative that educated the participants and the audience.

The exercise consisted of pre-recorded news broadcasts, live “staff” briefings, and moderated discussions on specific topics. 15 global business, government, and public health leaders were players in the simulation exercise that highlighted unresolved real-world policy and economic issues that could be solved with sufficient political will, financial investment, and attention now and in the future. A severe pandemic, which becomes “Event 201,” would require reliable cooperation among several industries, national governments, and key international institutions.Įvent 201 was a 3.5-hour pandemic tabletop exercise that simulated a series of dramatic, scenario-based facilitated discussions, confronting difficult, true-to-life dilemmas associated with response to a hypothetical, but scientifically plausible, pandemic. Experts agree that it is only a matter of time before one of these epidemics becomes global-a pandemic with potentially catastrophic consequences. Managing these events already strains global capacity, even absent a pandemic threat. These events are increasing, and they are disruptive to health, economies, and society. In recent years, the world has seen a growing number of epidemic events, amounting to approximately 200 events annually. Statement about nCoV and our pandemic exercise

The exercise illustrated areas where public/private partnerships will be necessary during the response to a severe pandemic in order to diminish large-scale economic and societal consequences. The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hosted Event 201, a high-level pandemic exercise on October 18, 2019, in New York, NY.
