IPI INTERNATICINAL MACE INSTTIVTE Preparing for Pandemics: Lessons Learned for More Effective Responses I. Dangerously unprepared The current Ebola outbreak represents an unprecedented crisis that has underlined the need to enhance WHO's leadership, accelerate preparedness in countries and increase coordination among partners to better detect, prevent and manage any future crises. The difficulties in eradicating polio, in particular the lack of security and healthcare infrastructure in remote areas as well as corruption and vaccination reluctance has highlighted that the global community has to take a multidisciplinary approach to overcome barriers when fighting these diseases. As Bill Gates stressed at a recent meeting of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization in Berlin (on 27 January), and as Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, recently pointed out, the world is dangerously unprepared for future pandemics, and we have to plan to deal with them as we would plan to prepare ourselves for war. It is difficult to anticipate the outbreak of such pandemics, but it is possible to develop plans and contingencies to deal with the unexpected. This Post Ebola reflection process needs to consider the wider UN context and the roles of various organizations involved. This requires an international, joined-up and constructive strategy among all relevant stakeholders. II. High-level meeting in Geneva Therefore, the International Peace Institute (IPI) calls for an international conference to immediately respond to this call for action, and mobilize relevant experts from diverse backgrounds (i.e. UN Member States, multi-lateral institutions, corporations, philanthropists, historians, sociologists, anthropologists, public health specialists, medical doctors, pharmaceutical specialist, civil society, etc.) to examine lessons learned from dealing with pandemics, and discuss policy recommendations for a more robust response to future pande