Brookings Institution: Pandemics and the poor
Ben Oppenheim, senior scientific consultant with Metabiota and senior fellow and visiting scholar at the New York University Center on International Cooperation, and Gavin Yamey, director of the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health and professor of global health at Duke University’s Global Health Institute, discuss “why the poor are more vulnerable to epidemics and pandemics and what protections are required.” They write, “[P]andemic preparedness efforts must preferentially target the poor. This means doing at least four key pro-poor things: 1. Focus on countries with high disease burdens and high spark risk. … 2. Track progress in pandemic preparedness. … 3. Ensure equitable access to pandemic vaccines and medicines. … 4. Invest now for economic recovery from pandemics…” (6/19).