© Reuters / Kyodo
A sudden lethal pandemic could wipe out tens of millions of people, destroy the world's economies, and leave humanity in chaos, according to a new report from an emergency preparedness body that isn't alarmist in the slightest.
Citing a reactionary "cycle of panic and neglect" in which health emergencies are dealt with as they arise, rather than before they start, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board - an entity formed last year by the World Bank and the World Health Organization - has called for immediate and massive investment in emergency preparedness systems in its first-ever
report, titled "A World At Risk."
"The
world is not prepared for a fast-moving, virulent respiratory pathogen pandemic," the report, posted on Tuesday, warns, claiming that such a crisis would kill off 50 to 80 million people - 2.8 percent of the population - ravage the global economy and trade, and "destabilize national security." Countries must "be prepared for the worst," if they want to avoid getting crushed by the next pandemic.
The other six "urgent actions" governments are advised to take
mostly consist of throwing money at the problem, according to the report. "Heads of government must commit and invest," "countries and regional organizations must lead by example" (so that reluctant and/or poor countries are persuaded to commit and invest), "all countries must build strong systems" with those investments, "financial institutions must link preparedness with financial risk planning" i.e. budget for spending lots of money on preparedness, "development assistance funders must create incentives and increase funding for preparedness," and "the UN must strengthen coordination mechanisms" so the money gets to the right place.
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