US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday urged G20 members to support a proposal for a fund to invest in pandemic prevention and preparedness, warning that failure to close gaps in systems global health care can have “devastating” costs.
Yellen told central bankers and finance ministers from the world’s 20 largest economies that the new financial intermediary fund — which would be allocated to the World Bank — would help channel the estimated $75 billion in investments needed to reduce global vulnerabilities against future pandemics.
“While the human and economic trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic is fresh in our minds, we have a political window to act to address the shortcomings in our global health architecture,” she said, according to a text of her prepared comments.
“The cost of not doing so can be devastating.”
In her remarks, to be delivered remotely during the meeting hosted by Indonesia, Yellen sought to undo the reservations raised by some G20 countries about the proposed fund, arguing that this would not divert funds needed to strengthen the World Health Organization (WHO ), nor would it create a new organization.
“We don’t see this as a reserve of cash sitting idle waiting to respond to the next pandemic,” she said, adding that the new fund would help encourage countries to invest in disease surveillance and detection systems to prepare for future crises.
Source: CNN Brasil
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
