The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed faults in the way we assess preparedness and response
capacities for public health emergencies. Existing frameworks are limited in scope,
and do not sufficiently consider complex social, economic, political, regulatory,
and ecological factors. One Health, through its focus on the links among humans, animals,
and ecosystems, is a valuable approach through which existing assessment frameworks
can be analysed and new ways forward proposed. Although in the past few years advances
have been made in assessment tools such as the International Health Regulations Joint
External Evaluation, a rapid and radical increase in ambition is required.