A collective failure by political leaders to heed warnings and prepare for an infectious disease pandemic has transformed "a world at risk" to a "world in disorder", according to a report on international epidemic preparedness.

"Financial and political investments in preparedness have been insufficient, and we are all paying the price," said the report by The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB).

"It is not as if the world has lacked the opportunity to take these steps," it added. "There have been numerous calls for action ... over the last decade, yet none has generated the changes needed."

The GPMB, co-convened by the World Bank and the World Health Organisation, is chaired by former WHO director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland.