3.B. Round table: Learning from the pandemic and implementing lessons learned: moving past the rhetoric

The COVID-19 pandemic put enormous pressure on our health systems, revealing how we were unprepared for such a global threat. We have gained many insights and learned valuable lessons about what went wrong and how we should prepare for the next pandemic. These lessons are set out in a series on national and international reports. Building Back Better is a concept at the core of many of these recommendations, arguing that we should make our health systems strong, sustainable and resilient. Although calls to learn from the past are commendable and a prerequisite for transparent and evidence-informed health policymaking, we run the risk of them becoming no more than good intentions and rhetoric. It is quite astounding to see how quickly we seem to have forgotten the profound impact of the pandemic on our societies. This does not only apply to citizens, but also to policymakers. There are many other complex and urgent policy problems that require attention - including climate change, migration, the war in Ukraine, and the cost-of-living crisis. It is therefore not difficult to imagine policymakers getting distracted by the immediate political pressures, paying less attention to - seemingly - less pressing issues that require a longer-term strategy, such as implementing the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, building back better may be a catchy phrase, but as with many things, it is easier said than done, as there are huge societal challenges that need to be overcome when we want to really strengthen our health systems. Think, for example, about shortages of health workers, which will only increase due to ageing populations. Or competing budgetary pressures, with healthcare only one of many policy areas in dire need of investment. All in all, we have seen the paramount importance of building back better, but there are many challenges in practice. This roundtable will focus on how we can make sure that these lessons learned from the pandemic are actually implemented in our public health and wider health systems. The panelists will represent different perspectives and reflect on: what does the evidence tell us and what is needed at the system-level, the policy-level, and the level of the public health professional? Workshop participants will gain an understanding of what it will take to move from mere buzzwords to action, creating more resilient health systems, a fit-for-purpose and flexible health workforce, and equal access to vaccines and medicines, and what the role of different stakeholders in this could and should be. KEY MESSAGES: • Although we have seen the paramount importance of building our health systems back better, there are many challenges in practice. • Public health leadership, a longer-term vision and an evidence-informed approach are indispensable for realizing strong and resilient health systems. SPEAKERS/PANELISTS: Martin McKee LSHTM, London, UK Natasha Azzopardi Muscat WHO, Copenhagen, Denmark Dineke Zeegers Paget EUPHA Ton Coenen GGD GHOR Nederland, Utrecht, Netherlands