Matthew M. Kavanagh says science can now sequence a virus in days and build vaccines in months. Yet pandemics come faster, spread wider and cost more lives and jobs. He argues that inequality makes people and societies more vulnerable.
Kavanagh warns that many governments treated pandemics as technical problems and gave new tools to companies that hold global monopolies. Those monopolies limit supply, raise prices and prolong crises. He also says debt payments take money away from nurses and labs, and this slows responses when a pandemic hits.
To change this, he proposes pausing debt repayments for countries with debt distress and pandemics, creating a real pandemic finance facility for emergency reserves, and sharing production technology instead of only giving donations.
Difficult words
- pandemic — A disease that spreads widely.pandemics
- wealth — Money and valuable resources.
- community — A group of people living together.communities
- government — The group that controls a country.Governments
- technology — Tools and machines that help solve problems.technologies
- vaccine — A substance to protect against disease.vaccines
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How can sharing technology help poorer countries?
- What are some ways to reduce health inequality?
- Why is it important for everyone to benefit from health improvements?
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