JAKARTA (Reuters), – Tuesday’s call by the United States of America and Indonesia for a forum to help prepare for possible pandemics in the future was made. The Forum was to be launched this month, urging the Group of 20 largest economies to take advantage of an opportunity to develop plans for an international response system.

Jointly, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the upcoming meeting of finance and health ministers at G20 in Rome was a chance to take action to stop the next pandemic.

They stated, “We cannot lose this chance to show leadership with a determined commitment to act.”

“We all have had to face the immense human and financial costs resulting from this devastating, unpredictable pandemic. We are progressing in combating COVID-19. But, this is not the end of the pandemic.

According to Reuters data, COVID-19 infected 244 millions people worldwide and killed 5.2million people. The worst-affected countries in each region were Indonesia and the United States, both with similar populations.

The G20 comprises the United States of America, Japan, Britain and South Korea.

A joint declaration stated that the pandemic revealed a lackluster response by the countries involved and limited coordination on the international level. To support the work done by the World Health Organization, it was crucial to establish a worldwide mechanism for detection, prevention, and information sharing.

The report called for more inclusiveness and less bureaucracy, and stated that a coordinated response is crucial for countries with lower resources who lack the ability to quickly respond.

“Those countries… need the international community’s support to take this initiative.” It stated that the cost of failing to do so would be catastrophic.