The world must invest much more to avoid a repeat of the coronavirus pandemic, experts convened by the G20 said Friday as they warned the next health crisis could come within a decade. or so. “The world is far from equipped to prevent or stop the next pandemic,” the High-Level Independent Panel said in a report presented at the G20 finance ministers meeting in Venice, Italy.

The panel said even as COVID19 rages, “there is every likelihood that the next pandemic will come within a decade- arising from a novel influenza strain, another coronavirus, or one of several other dangerous pathogens”. The panel said that the impact on human health and the global economy could be even more profound than that of COVID-19.

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The G20 panel has called for billions of dollars in new funding to plug the gaps in global pandemic preparedness. The report recommended governments collectively commit to increase financing for prevention and preparedness at least by $75 billion over the next five years.

Their report, A Global Deal for Our Pandemic Age, urges the governments of the world’s 20 wealthiest nations to contribute to a new $75 billion pandemic preparedness war chest over the next five years.

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They proposed that about $10 billion per year would be invested in a fund for new health threats. This would fund a coordinated surveillance and research network for infectious diseases, more resilient healthcare systems, better governance to manage crises, and an improved global capacity to produce vaccines. 

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization said, “We must learn the right lessons from this pandemic in order to be well prepared for the next one.” She noted however that COVID19 “is still here”, urging the G20 ministers to do more to donate vaccines and support manufacturing and distribution.