There have been rising global health security (GHS) threats from emerging zoonotic disease outbreaks, notably pandemics. Historically, pandemics have placed a heavy burden on society, and the pandemic responses have been facing difficulties having to deal with uncertainty, fear, panic, loss of trust in authority, and a lack of collaboration by different sectors. Therefore, pandemic prevention and control have become a global health security (GHS) priority concern. COVID-19 pandemic in particular has thus far caused millions of deaths and brought enormous negative socio-economic impacts worldwide. Furthermore, with today's data saturation, COVID-19 has been accompanied by mixed-quality information, leaving people inundated and confused by fake news and inconsistent and politicised messages that create distrust and heighten social divisions. This has demonstrated the need for well-designed risk communication strategies for effective pandemic response. Moreover, despite significant efforts to combat the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic by international organisations and affected countries, solutions like vaccine development and mass testing have not fully resolved the crisis. This ongoing uncertainty highlights the needs for effective risk communication (RC) to strengthen pandemic responses in order to secure GHS. Effective RC involves a two-way exchange of information, and knowledge, facilitating cooperation, managing uncertainty, enabling decision-making, building trust, and sharing resources. While RC has received increasing attention, few studies have systematically investigated the RC in pandemic responses, particularly in countries severely impacted by COVID-19, such as Indonesia. This research investigates the challenges and needs for effective risk communication strategies to strengthen future pandemic responses. The study draws from Indonesia's experience dealing with COVID-19 as a case in point, focusing on investigating the current gaps and potential strategies to improve RC, design and implementation to strengthen pandemic responses. This is a qualitative study aiming to explore in-depth the views of experts and first-handed experience of relevant stakeholders about their use of risk communication to deal with COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from critically reviews relevant literature and analyses secondary data across four different contextual fields, the study used multiple data collection techniques to capture diverse perspectives and minimise potential bias. The data collection methods used included site observations, in-depth interviews with 42 knowledgeable informants, two focus group discussions with key stakeholders (12 persons), and a community forum attended by 10 participants. [...]