Billionaire businessman, Bill Gates has said there is no time to waste and a number of things should be happening immediately to deal with the outbreak of Coronavirus.
In an article titled, “How to respond to COVID-19” on his GatesNotes blog, Gates highlighted solutions for the outbreak of Coronavirus in countries
The virus causes a disease known as COVID-19 and has so far killed almost 2,900 people and infected more than 83,000 others globally since its outbreak in Wuhan, China.
The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist referred to the outbreak as a pandemic, even though the World Health Organization has not declared it one.
Gates wrote, “In the past week, COVID-19 has started to behave a lot like the once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a case in point. We need to save lives.”
According to him, leaders have two equally important responsibilities in times of crisis like this which are: “solve the immediate problem and keep it from happening again.”
In the op-ed, Gates suggested the following solutions that could slow down the spread of the virus.
“Wealthy and developed countries should supply low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Southern Asia with trained healthcare workers to monitor the virus’ spread and deliver vaccines.
“Establish an international database for disease surveillance where countries can share information.
“Develop a system that screens for compounds that have already been safety-tested to use in a vaccine.
“Governments and donors should fund manufacturing facilities that can develop safe and effective vaccines and antivirals, get them approved, and deliver billions of doses within a few months of the discovery
“The world needs to invest in disease surveillance, including a case database that is instantly accessible to the relevant organizations and rules that require countries to share their information.
“In addition to technical solutions, budgets for these efforts need to be expanded several times over.
“Governments and industry will need to come to an agreement: During a pandemic, vaccines and antivirals won’t simply be sold to the highest bidder. They should be available and affordable for people who are at the heart of the outbreak and in greatest need.”
