Netherlands woefully underprepared for a new pandemic, health services say

Dutch public health services are continuing efforts to maintain pandemic preparedness, but funding remains partial and temporary, GGD GHOR Nederland said Tuesday.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous cabinet invested heavily to strengthen readiness for future health crises. Measures included hiring more infectious disease professionals, upgrading ICT systems, and clarifying crisis management structures. Cabinet Rutte IV allocated 300 million euros for pandemic preparedness, with 153 million euros earmarked for public health. The current cabinet, however, imposed deep budget cuts.

The Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport (VWS) recently restored part of the funding, allowing limited progress. However, according to GGD, funding remains insufficient for the complete pandemic preparedness program and is not structural.

Temporary funding has been allocated through 2028 while permanent decisions on resilient healthcare, including pandemic preparedness, are pending. Key areas partially funded include strengthening GGD services, infectious disease control at the RIVM, and national scaling of outbreak response. Cuts affecting ICT upgrades and vaccine infrastructure have not yet been restored.

“GGD GHOR Nederland is pleased that work on pandemic preparedness can continue for now, but structural funding is urgently needed,” said André Rouvoet, chairman of GGD Nederland.“The government must ensure that all elements of the program can be realized. Until then, the GGD and GGD GHOR will continue working hard to make the Netherlands more resilient and better prepared for the next health crisis.”