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A sudden, deadly pandemic could kill tens of millions of people, destroy global economies and leave humanity in chaos, according to a new report by an emergency preparedness organization that is not at all alarmist.
Quoting a reactionary "cycle of panic and neglect"In which health emergencies are dealt with as soon as they arise, rather than before they start, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board – an entity created last year by the World Bank and the World Bank. 39; World Health Organization – called for an immediate and massive investment in emergency preparedness systems in his first ever report, titled "A world at risk. "
"The world is not prepared for a pandemic of virulent respiratory respiratory pathogens, Warns the report, released Tuesday, saying that such a crisis would make 50 to 80 million victims, or 2.8% of the population, ravage the global economy and trade anddestabilize national security. "Countries must"to be ready for the worst"If they want to avoid being crushed by the next pandemic.
The other sixurgent actions"It is advisable for governments to take measures consisting mainly of injecting money into the problem, according to the report."Heads of Government must engage and invest, ""countries and regional organizations need to show the example"(For reluctant and / or poor countries to be persuaded to commit and invest),"all countries need to build strong systems"With these investments,"financial institutions need to link readiness and financial risk planning"I.e. budget to spend a lot of money in preparation,"Development aid donors need to create incentives and increase funding for preparedness, "and"the UN must strengthen coordination mechanisms"So that money arrives at the right place.
The report reminds countries several times that they have adopted the International Health Regulations, a binding agreement of 2005 which already obliges them to reportpublic health emergency of international concern"At WHO and strengthen their national preparedness infrastructures, and the blunders of not applying these regulations satisfactorily. Epidemics, he recalls, tend to transcend national borders – especially whencountries, terrorist groups or scientifically advanced individuals create or obtain and then use biological weapons with the characteristics of a new respiratory pathogen with a significant impact. "
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In the midst of all these alarming rumors, the report still finds time to deplore that "Confidence in institutions erodes," thanks to "misinformation that can hinder the control of the disease communicated quickly and widely via social media. "
From the good side, "the preparation is not a very expensive investmentDr. Alexander Ross, Director of the GPMB Secretariat, told The Telegraph, adding that such an investment "is immediate and has additional benefits, such as increased confidence. "
The GPMB was designed as a result of the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the most deadly outbreak of this disease in history and one in which a sluggish action of the WHO played a major role in the high number of deaths. In the midst of another outbreak of this type, Ross called for a "paradigm shift in the way we think about preparing"Stressing that even with a vaccine and new drugs to treat Ebola, the epidemic is not under control.
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