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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched its fifth annual goalkeeper report on Friday, providing an updated global data set illustrating the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on progress towards achieving development goals sustainable (SDG).
The report, co-authored by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, shows that disparities caused by COVID-19 remain stark, with those hardest hit being the slowest to recover.
The report says that due to COVID-19, 31 million more people were pushed into extreme poverty in 2020 compared to 2019.
He said that while 90% of advanced economies would return to pre-pandemic per capita income levels by next year, only a third of low and middle income economies are expected to do so.
Fortunately, in the midst of this devastation, the world has stepped up to avoid some of the worst-case scenarios in last year’s goaltending report. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) predicted a decline 14 percentage points in global immunization coverage, effectively erasing 25 years of progress in 25 weeks, ”he said.
According to the report, a new analysis by the IHME showed that the decline, while still unacceptable, was only half of what was expected.
The Co-Chairs highlighted “breathtaking innovation” that has only been possible through decades of global collaboration, commitment and investment.
They recognized that avoiding worst-case scenarios was laudable, but noted that ensuring a truly equitable recovery from the pandemic was not enough, and called for long-term investments in health and savings. , like those who led to the rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccine, to propel recovery efforts and get the world back on track to meet global goals.
“The past year has reinforced our belief that progress is possible but not inevitable, if we can develop the best of what we have seen over the past 18 months, we can finally put the pandemic behind us and once again accelerate the progress in tackling issues like health, hunger and climate change, ”the report says.
He further highlighted the disproportionate economic impact the pandemic had had on women around the world in high and low income countries, saying women had been hit harder than men by the global recession triggered by the pandemic. .
“Women face structural barriers in all corners of the world, making them more vulnerable to the impacts of the pandemic. By investing in women now and addressing these inequalities, governments can stimulate a more equitable recovery while strengthening their economies against future crises. It’s not just the right thing to do, but smart policy that will benefit everyone, ”he said.
The report also illustrated how the so-called “miracle” of COVID-19 vaccines was the result of decades of investment, policies and partnerships that established the infrastructure, talent and ecosystems necessary to deploy them quickly.
He said the systems that enabled the unprecedented development and deployment of vaccines existed mostly in rich countries and, therefore, the world had not benefited in the same way.
The lack of equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines was a public health tragedy as the world faced the very real risk that in the future wealthy countries and communities would begin to treat COVID-19 as another disease of poverty, he said.
“We cannot put the pandemic behind us until everyone, regardless of where they live, has access to vaccines. To date, more than 80% of all COVID-19 vaccines have been given in high and upper middle income countries, with some providing two to three times the number needed to cover boosters; less than 1% of doses were given in low-income countries, ”the report says.
He said that although Africa is home to 17% of the world’s population, it has less than one percent of the global vaccine manufacturing capacity and called on the world to invest in R&D, infrastructure and innovation in places closer to the people who happened to benefit.
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