Avoiding war increase likelihood of another global pandemic: Bill gates

Microsoft co-founder cites global unrest as factor linked to likelihood of another pandemic within 25 years.

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Bill Gates has warned that another global pandemic is "likely" to occur within the next 25 years if a major war is avoided.

Speaking to an American news outlet, the Microsoft co-founder highlighted the current global unrest and said, "If we avoid a big war... then, yes, there will be another pandemic."

Gates, who has been vocal about the world’s preparedness for pandemics, expressed concerns about how poorly equipped nations were for the COVID-19 outbreak.

In his 2022 book, How to Prevent the Next Pandemic, Gates discussed the need for better quarantine protocols and greater investment in vaccine research.

Reflecting on the US response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gates remarked that the country “fell short of expectations” in leading the global effort to combat the virus.

While some progress has been made, with increased spending on pandemic preparedness in the US and elsewhere,

Gates says the global response hasn’t yet been enough. “Although some of the lessons from [the coronavirus] pandemic have been learned, [it’s been] way less than I would expect, sadly,” he says.

The political divisions many believe hampered the world’s response to COVID-19 are still standing in the way of preparing appropriately for the next outbreak, Gates adds, “Getting our thoughts together about what [we did] well, what we didn’t do well, is still not happening .... Perhaps, in the next five years, that’ll get better. But, so far, it’s quite surprising.”

Preventing widespread disease is the focus of an episode in the upcoming Netflix docuseries “What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates,” set to premiere September 18.

In an advance screening of the Netflix series provided to Make It, Gates sits down with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

In that conversation, Fauci is adamant that the wealthiest nations, like the US, have a “moral responsibility” to share their abundant resources to lead the way on preventing the spread of disease around the world.

Despite the rapid development of vaccines, which took less than 12 months, the world still faced severe challenges, including hospital overcrowding and a shortage of medical supplies.

Experts continue to warn of the possibility of new diseases emerging, potentially from animal-to-human transmission. Recent concerns have arisen over Mpox and bird flu, with the World Health Organization declaring Mpox a public health emergency in 2022.