US EditionInequality is driving pandemics, but it does not have to
- On Nov 3, the United Nations warned in Johannesburg, South Africa, that high inequality increases pandemic risks and creates a vicious cycle ahead of G20 leaders' meetings this month.
- Pandemics themselves increase inequality, driving a self-reinforcing cycle that deepens health and economic harms, while governments' fiscal choices via austerity starve social protection systems, the report said.
- Researchers based the findings on two years of work by the UNAIDS-convened Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics, led by Joseph Stiglitz, Monica Geingos and Sir Michael Marmot, noting Covid-19 pushed 165 million into poverty while the richest grew wealth by more than a quarter.
- Stiglitz will present the report ahead of the G20 on November 22 and 23, urging world leaders to boost pandemic preparedness with social protection investments and debt restructuring measures.
- Failure to address inequalities risks leaving the world vulnerable to future pandemics, the report urged, emphasizing the need for equal access to treatments and an immediate IP waiver during pandemics.
21 Articles
21 Articles
The spokesman-Review
G20 taskforce calls for global panel to tackle 'inequality emergency'
JOHANNESBURG - A G20 taskforce established by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the creation of an international panel to tackle inequality, warning that extreme wealth disparities disrupt democracy and cause economic instability.
A UNAIDS report shows that inequality makes pandemics longer and slower, and that the lack of social responses after Covid-19 left the world vulnerable to new health crises.
New UN report tackles ‘inequality-pandemic cycle’, warns world unprepared for next crisis
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 3 — High inequality makes the world vulnerable to pandemics and creates a vicious cycle that endangers public health and economies, leading economists, health experts and the United Nations said today.The findings were based on two years of research by the Unaids-convened Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics, published in a report released ahead of meetings of G20 leaders in South Africa this month.“High levels of i…
Inequality Making World More Prone To Pandemics: UN Report
The report called on world leaders to increase pandemic preparedness by investing in "social protection mechanisms" within their countries while also tackling global inequality, including through debt restructuring for developing countries.
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