Pre-emptive emergency preparedness delivers a high return on investment in the the event of an infectious disease outbreak.

Key Evidence: Although the upfront investment in preparedness is costly – severe influenza pandemic preparedness is US$4.5bn a year – the estimated annual economic benefits would total US$60bn and US$490bn through averted deaths. “Even if only one tenth of these benefits were to materialize, the returns to public investment in preparedness would still be extraordinarily high.”