Pandemic preparedness slipping just as global risks grow, new 100 Days Mission report warns

Fifth Implementation Report highlights some progress, but warns that fragile systems, uneven investment and pipeline stagnation threaten the world’s ability to respond to another pandemic within 100 days

Key points:

• The Fifth Implementation Report of the 100 Days Mission (100DM) finds that the 100-day target is not yet achievable in many areas, with significant gaps persisting across diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines and the systems required to deliver them rapidly and equitably.
• The 100DM Scorecard 3.0 highlights continued pressure on global R&D pipelines, declining investment in pandemic countermeasures, and heavy reliance on a small number of funders.
• Major reductions in global health and research budgets in 2025 have exposed structural vulnerabilities, disrupted development pipelines, and weakened preparedness.
• A series of outbreaks in 2025, including mpox, H5N1, Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley Fever, Chikungunya and measles, demonstrated persistent weaknesses in early detection, coordination and access.
• The report identifies 2026 as a decisive year as France begins its G7 presidency, calling for coordinated action to operationalise therapeutics development, close diagnostics gaps, sustain vaccine investment, and secure the future of preparedness monitoring.
• Global experts are convening today in Paris to discuss the report’s findings. Join the event virtually via our Zoom livestream.

Paris, France, 27 January 2026 – The International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS) today launches the Fifth Implementation Report of the 100 Days Mission, warning that global pandemic readiness is becoming increasingly fragile at a time of growing biosecurity and geopolitical risk.

The report is being launched at an international event at PariSanté Campus in Paris, hosted in partnership with the French National Research Agency for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and Emerging Infectious Diseases (ANRS MIE/Inserm) and the Pasteur Network, and livestreamed to a global audience.

The 100 Days Mission aims to ensure that safe, effective and affordable diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines (DTVs) can be developed, approved and made available for scale-up within 100 days of a pandemic threat being identified. The Fifth Implementation Report assesses global progress toward this ambition during a year of major political, financial, and epidemiological change.

In 2025, the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement marked a significant step forward, establishing the first global framework for equitable preparedness and response. However, the report finds that implementation now represents the decisive test. At the same time, sharp contractions in global health and R&D funding, including reduced commitments from major donors and the closure of several large programmes, have disrupted pipelines and revealed how dependent the preparedness ecosystem remains on a narrow funding base.

The 100DM Scorecard 3.0, developed in collaboration with Impact Global Health, shows that overall investment in pandemic countermeasure R&D continued to decline through FY2024, with the steepest impacts seen in therapeutics. Pipelines across diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines remain uneven and clustered in early stages, with limited progression into mid-stage and late-stage development. Progress on enabling systems, including regulatory preparedness, clinical trial readiness, data-sharing frameworks and manufacturing coordination, remains slow.

A succession of outbreaks in 2025 reinforced these findings. Mpox remains a continental health emergency in Africa, H5N1 has demonstrated zoonotic spillover risk, and outbreaks of Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley Fever and Chikungunya have placed renewed pressure on public health systems. These events highlighted persistent challenges in early detection, coordination and equitable access to countermeasures.

For the first time, and in response to calls for more detailed analysis from Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), the 100DM Scorecard includes a ‘deep dive’ assessment of pandemic preparedness and response (PPR) capacity in Africa. This new analysis evaluates the continent’s capabilities in clinical trials, laboratory systems, regulatory frameworks and manufacturing, providing a clearer picture of the regional strengths needed to support the 100 Days Mission.

Despite the significant pressures highlighted, the report also identifies areas of meaningful progress. Advances in platform technologies, including mRNA, monoclonal antibodies and artificial intelligence, continue to offer opportunities to accelerate development. Regional capacity has expanded, particularly in Africa, with growing regulatory maturity and manufacturing capability. Rwanda’s integration of the 100 Days Mission framework and Scorecard into national preparedness planning is highlighted as an example of how the mission can be operationalised at country level.

With the mandate of IPPS concluding in 2027, the report identifies four priority action areas for 2026:

• Operationalising the Therapeutics Development Coalition to address persistent gaps in antiviral R&D.
• Enhancing coordination across the diagnostics ecosystem and implementing recommendations from the Global Diagnostics Gap Assessment.
• Sustaining vaccine investment and strengthening alignment across diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.
• Agreeing a sustainable mechanism for pandemic preparedness monitoring, including a long-term path for the 100 Days Mission Scorecard beyond the IPPS mandate.

The Paris launch comes at a critical political moment, as France assumes the G7 presidency, and will host a major summit on One Health in April, and the international community prepares for the UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response in September.

Dr Mona Nemer, Chair of the IPPS Steering Group and Chief Science Adviser of Canada, said: “The science needed to respond faster to pandemics continues to advance, but this report makes clear that progress in applying these advances to deliverig effective tools is insufficient. Today, despite the landmark WHO Pandemic Agreement, the world remains vulnerable to funding shocks, uncoordinated R&D efforts and fragile development pipelines – particularly for therapeutics.

The 100 Days Mission was designed to move us from panic to preparedness. Achieving it will require sustained investment, stronger integration across diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, and the political resolve to translate global commitments into operational readiness. The coming year is decisive: without action now, the opportunity to build a faster, fairer and more resilient response to future pandemics will narrow further.”

IPPS warns that 2026 represents a narrowing window to convert ambition into durable, operational systems capable of delivering faster, fairer and more coordinated responses to future pandemic threats.

“With IPPS concluding in 2027, France assuming the G7 presidency, and the UN High-Level Meeting ahead, 2026 represents our opportunity to translate frameworks into functioning systems. The Pasteur Network stands ready to support this work through our collaborative ethos, regional presence, and shared commitment to global health solidarity.”

Dr Rebecca Grais, Executive Director of Pasteur Network

About the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS):

IPPS is an independent entity formed to catalyse scientific exchange and facilitate multidisciplinary engagement in support of the 100 Days Mission and accelerated DTV development. The Secretariat seeks to empower the community of implementation partners to maintain ambition, continuity, and accountability towards the achievement of the 100 Days Mission. IPPS is a time-limited entity due to complete its work in 2027.

About the 100 Days Mission:

Launched in 2021, the 100 Days Mission seeks to minimize the impact of pandemics by ensuring that safe and affordable diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines are ready for global deployment within 100 days of the identification of a pandemic threat. The implementation of the initiative is led by the IPPS in collaboration with governments, academia, and international organisations.