Prominent international experts are warning that a virulent flu pandemic capable of spreading across the world in 36 hours, killing up to 80 million people, is entirely plausible and efforts by governments to prepare for it are “grossly insufficient.” The Guardian reports: The first annual report by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, an independent group of 15 experts convened by the World Bank and WHO after the first Ebola crisis, describes the threat of a pandemic spreading around the world, potentially killing tens of millions of people, as “a real one.” There are “increasingly dire risks” of epidemics, yet the world remained unprepared, the report said. It warned epidemic-prone diseases such as Ebola, influenza and Sars are increasingly difficult to manage in the face of increasing conflict, fragile states and rising migration. The climate crisis, urbanization and a lack of adequate sanitation and water are breeding grounds for fast-spreading, catastrophic outbreaks.
The report acknowledges governments and international institutions have taken steps to increase preparedness for outbreaks in the five years since the Ebola crisis in west Africa, but concludes current preparedness is “grossly insufficient.” A growing lack of public trust in institutions in some countries, exacerbated by misinformation, hinders disease control, said the study. The report outlined seven steps to ensure the world’s health system is better prepared for the next health emergency, calling on heads of states to increase funding and for international organizations to build preparedness into funding mechanisms. “Poverty and fragility exacerbate outbreaks of infectious disease and help create the conditions for pandemics to take hold,” said Axel van Trotsenburg, acting CEO of the World Bank. “Investing in stronger institutions and health systems will promote resilience, economic stability and global health security.”
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Source: Slashdot – Experts Warn World ‘Grossly Unprepared’ For Future Pandemics