Thread by @DrEricDing

I agree—“most likely we will not be better prepared than we were in 2020” said @Karl_Lauterbach, 🇩🇪 health minister. ➡️“It’s only a matter of time until #climatechange makes more of these outbreaks become big enough that they become #pandemics”. Sobering.
hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/…

2) We are in a “time when climate change is increasing the threat of infectious disease outbreaks. As wildlife habitats disappear, animals are moving closer to each other and to humans, interacting in new ways that create more opportunities for viruses to jump between species.”

3) the G7 has set up a PACT FOR PANDEMIC READINESS of $1.5 billion a year. The World Bank has set up a fund for the pact of roughly $1.5 billion per year, which is a minor investment compared to the expenses associated with a pandemic, @Karl_Lauterbach said.

4) “The costs of a lost opportunity to prevent a pandemic are … mind-boggling,” he noted.
The World Bank is still deciding how the fund’s money should be distributed. Typically, the organization supports specific projects within individual countries.

5) But according to @Karl_Lauterbach, that approach would lead to disjointed, ineffective efforts. Instead, he thinks, investments should go toward building a global public health workforce that is well-versed in key scientific disciplines.

6) “We need a much better grounding of science in our daily policymaking,” he said. “Otherwise, there will be no way that we will master the challenges ahead.”