The COVID-19 Coronavirus that started in Hubei province in China has spread across the world in across 46 countries including Italy, France and South Korea among others.?
Even the US has reported two deaths due to Coronavirus last week. Every day it is getting more and more difficult to contain the novel coronavirus.?
And amidst all this, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has requested developed nations to contribute to helping take down COVID-19 in a recent editorial published in the New England Journal of Medicine.?
Bill Gates emphasises on the need to strengthen the primary healthcare systems in countries with weaker economies as they can not just help contain the epidemic but it will also help monitoring disease patterns to better understand the novel coronavirus.
He said, "By helping countries in Africa and South Asia get ready now," we can save lives and also slow the global circulation of this virus."
He further added, ¡°In addition, we need to build a system that can develop safe, effective vaccines and antivirals, get them approved, and deliver billions of doses within a few months after the discovery of a fast-moving pathogen. That¡¯s a tough challenge that presents technical, diplomatic, and budgetary obstacles, as well as demanding partnership between the public and private sectors. But all these obstacles can be overcome.¡±
He also emphasised on the fact that governments across the globe need to have better diplomatic efforts to facilitate international collaboration and sharing of data. ¡°Governments and industry will need to come to an agreement: during a pandemic, vaccines and antivirals can¡¯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. Not only is such distribution the right thing to do, it¡¯s also the right strategy for short-circuiting transmission and preventing future pandemics. These are the actions that leaders should be taking now. There is no time to waste.¡±