Investing in pandemic preparedness

The first study to assess the impact of an influenza pandemic on individual companies was released by the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto last week. The study, “Making a case for investing in pandemic preparedness”, was presented to the World Conference on Disaster Management. The study focuses on how companies can justify investing in pandemic planning using standard business performance metrics. The study also highlights the lack of government guidance provided to business and the urgent need for public and private sector to work together. Here, Dr Amin Mawani, the study’s author and Associate Professor in the Health Industry Management Program at the Schulich School of Business, outlines the economic consequences of a pandemic and explains how an investment in pandemic preparedness now far outweighs the potential impact that a pandemic could have on individual businesses.