Founder of Microsoft and one of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates has advised Nigeria and countries around the world to begin preparations for the next pandemic.
Speaking to TheCable on Tuesday, Gates said that covid19 is not likely to be the last pandemic the world would witness.
He recommended that Nigeria makes adequate preparations by investing in the primary healthcare which he considers closer to the people.
He said that Nigeria loses lives to lack of access to primary healthcare every year than the total number of deaths n Africa from the covid19 pandemic.
According to Bill Gates, “I mean the deaths from the deficits and primary healthcare are dramatically higher every year than the total deaths going on in Africa from this pandemic, and so I hope it causes everyone in society to look at these health issues.
“There should be close to 100% coverage of all the vaccines and you need to have those very functional primary healthcare systems because the number of lives you can save is absolutely huge.”
The America billionaire and philanthropist added that “The unfortunate reality is that covid19 might not be the last pandemic. We don’t know when the next one will strike, or whether it will be a flu, a coronavirus or some new disease we’ve never seen before.
“But what we do know is that we can’t afford to be caught flat-footed again. The threat of the next pandemic will always be hanging over our heads-unless the world takes steps to prevent it.”
Gates advised President Buhari to make arrangements to build a new vaccine factory that will help the country stem the spread of the pandemic.
This according to him will be cheaper than the loss of lives and trillions to a pandemic. Considering that it takes at least 5 years to complete a vaccine factory, now is the time to start building it.
He added that “There are a very high volume of factories in the developing world, primarily in Indonesia and India.
“Making a new vaccine factory is more than a five-year effort. Definitely, it will be ready for the next pandemic.
“I think that there will be factories using this mNRA approach, that are put in multiple places in Africa so you’ll have guaranteed quick supply.
In @Bill Gatesopinion, the plan for the next round is to globally have lots of mNRA capacity, and to advance that technology so that it’s more scalable, more thermal-stable and cheaper, over the next five years That should be possible if we get the rich countries to make large investments. I’ll certainly be a huge advocate for that.”
Bill gates announced on Friday last week that he took his covid19 vaccine.
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