New outbreaks, at national or regional levels, especially in vulnerable locations or populations, seem like a given. While national and international public health systems responded well last year to mpox and Marburg, the incoming United States administration is likely to be indifferent or even hostile towards public health personnel and organizations like the World Health Organisation (WHO). This will make it harder to fight new outbreaks, in 2024 and after. 

Meanwhile, climate change and the extreme weather events it causes will remain a challenge to global security and human health. Catastrophic flooding and damaged infrastructure from tropical storms will aid in spreading diseases like cholera or vector-borne diseases like malaria or dengue. These hazards, typically associated with the global south, have begun to spring up in Europe and North America, in areas where the population has not previously worried about them. 

While there have been many public health success stories since Covid, there is still much work to be done and no shortage of potential risks in the future.