The Rockefeller Foundation Invests USD150 Million to Prevent Future Pandemics and Calls for Greater Collaboration to Build a Global Early Warning System

October 26, 2021

Berlin | October 25, 2021 – The Rockefeller Foundation will provide up to USD150 million in funding to the Pandemic Prevention Institute (PPI), a collaborative organization with a global network of partners committed to building data sets and analytics needed to detect, mitigate, and prevent pandemics. The Foundation also renewed its call for expanded collaboration to strengthen the global pandemic and epidemic intelligence ecosystem at the World Health Summit on Monday.

“After too many pandemics, the world has said ‘never again’ only to miss the moment — and the chance — to prevent the next one. At The Rockefeller Foundation, we believe it’s now possible to say ‘never again’ and mean it, which is why we are investing in the Pandemic Prevention Institute,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation.

This marks the next chapter in the Foundation’s more than 100-year history of using science and technology to improve public health and uplift humanity.

“At the Pandemic Prevention Institute, we have one clear goal: keep the world safe from future pandemics,” said Dr. Rick Bright, Senior Vice President, The Rockefeller Foundation, and CEO of the Pandemic Prevention Institute. “We cannot do it alone. We are already working with partners across the world to build an early warning system that can see the signals of outbreaks, sound the alarm, and then transform that data into action for decision-makers in every corner of the globe, but more collaboration is needed.”

Together with the World Health Organization’s Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin and the United Kingdom’s Global Pandemic Radar, the Pandemic Prevention Institute is helping transform global capability for stopping disease outbreaks.

“Global health preparedness and response will require partnership and collaboration at all levels – local, national and global. WHO welcomes and looks forward collaborating with The Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization.

The Pandemic Prevention Institute is also accelerating work to develop analytic tools and algorithms that detect early warning signals wherever they occur. Developing technology that sees and shares the signs of potential outbreaks, and supports sharing of those signals—instead of the data itself—is a crucial step to addressing data privacy and building an early warning system that works for all.

“Over the course of this pandemic, it has become clear that we need to strengthen health data systems to underpin a rapid and adaptive global response. Wellcome Trust’s partnership with the Pandemic Prevention Institute on the data.org initiative is an exciting example of the innovative approaches needed. It will bring together expertise ensuring advances are designed to be open for global benefit, helping us end future epidemics quickly and effectively,” said Sir Jeremy Farrar, Director, Wellcome Trust.

Moving forward, the Pandemic Prevention Institute will actively seek new partners to define and invest in a common agenda through the RF Catalytic Capital, Inc. (RFCC), a charitable offshoot that The Rockefeller Foundation created in 2020 to enable foundations, governments, and other like-minded funders to combine their resources to build funding solutions for social impact and bring about transformational change. The RFCC, which is incubating the PPI, will eventually launch the Institute as a standalone entity.

For more than a century, The Rockefeller Foundation has incubated health-focused initiatives and organizations to advance health equity across the globe. The Pandemic Prevention Institute is being built with the same ambition to contribute leadership, support global collaboration, and save lives.

Thank you for reading!