The global economy loses $500bn monthly to the Coronavirus Disease, say Bill and Melinda Gates.
According to Gates, countries have committed $18tn to economic stimulus to cushion the effect.
In the fourth annual Goalkeepers Report by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the former world’s richest man disclosed that the ripple effect of COVID-19 reversed 20 years of progress made towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He added that the severe economic damage caused by the pandemic reinforced inequities and derailed achievement of the SDGs.
The report showed that the COVID-19 crisis forced about 37m more people into extreme poverty, while people living just above the extreme poverty line fell below it.
Therefore, BMGF called for global response to end the pandemic, urging the world to collaborate on the development of diagnostics, vaccines and treatment; manufacture tests and doses as quickly as possible; and deliver them equitably based on need rather than the ability to pay.
It revealed that by nearly all indicators, the world regressed, and because of COVID-19, extreme poverty increased by seven per cent, while vaccine coverage – a good proxy measure to how health systems are functioning – dropped to levels last seen in the 1990s, setting the world back about 25 years in 25 weeks.
“The International Monetary Fund projects that, even with the $18tn that has already been spent to stimulate economies around the world, the global economy will lose $12tn or more by the end of 2021. That amount is impossible to fathom.
“To end the pandemic, the world should, as quickly as possible, collaborate to develop diagnostics and treatments to the pandemic in the short term and vaccines to end it in the medium term, as well as manufacture as many tests and doses as we can and deliver the tools equitably to those who need them most, no matter where they live or how much money they have,” it added.
Mr. and Mrs. Gates observed COVID-19 as a true test for the global community, saying one of the most troubling things about the pandemic was that it disrupted health systems and the global economy, erasing the progress people made towards healthier and more productive lives.
