Of the world’s countries, only six — three rich ones and three poor ones — have taken the steps they should have to evaluate their ability to withstand a global pandemic, according to a recent report sponsored by the World Bank.

Just three wealthy countries — Finland, Saudi Arabia and the United States — have gone through two external evaluations of their readiness to face pandemics, one for human diseases and one for animal outbreaks, the study found.

As of last April, only three poor countries — Eritrea, Pakistan and Tanzania — had undergone both evaluations and had described how they planned to find the money to rectify their weaknesses.

The unusually concise and crisp report, “From Panic and Neglect to Investing in Health Security,” was written by experts from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African and Asian development banks, and finance officials from various governments.