Pandemic preparedness in South Asia: outlining a plan for regional cooperation

Zoonotic diseases, transmitted from animals to humans, are on the rise. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, they not only impact health systems but have serious socio-economic implications too. Focusing on South Asia, the most densely-populated subregion of the world, Chathuni Pabasara and Ravindri Paranagama pull together various strands of the issue to highlight the region’s particular vulnerability to such transboundary pandemics and lay out regional action required to prevent similar devastation in the future.