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PANDEMICS DON’T NEED PASSPORTS TO CROSS BORDERS In a conversation with Mamta Murthi , World Bank Vice President for Human Development, we discuss lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on global healthcare and the way forward to build more equitable and sustainable systems
OPEC Fund Quarterly : What has the COVID-19 pandemic taught us about global pandemic preparedness and healthcare systems? Mamta Murthi: The COVID-19 pandemic has savagely exposed the weaknesses of healthcare systems and pandemic preparedness. Even countries that were considered to have been well-prepared initially faced incredible difficulties. On the supply side, health services have been disrupted because resources are being prioritized for the pandemic, while at the demand side we see issues such as loss of livelihoods and economic hardship caused by the pandemic. The pandemic has clearly shown that there is a need for much more investment in healthcare, including preventive systems such as surveillance and monitoring, in addition to the capacity to treat people when a disease becomes an epidemic or a pandemic. This requires financing, institutional
strength, development and cooperation across borders.
OFQ : Has the pandemic changed the way the World Bank Group is working? Did you, for example, hire extra staff or change your priorities? MM: The pandemic has led to the largest ramp-up in our financial support to the public and the private sectors in our history. In the past 18 months, the World Bank Group provided over US$150 billion in financing to support developing countries. Our financing has helped provide governments with resources to expand safety nets for people. We have supported emergency health measures and education systems. We helped farms and businesses and provided trade finance. We also extended budget support to governments, which have been squeezed due to falling tax revenues and economic inactivity.
In the past 18 months, the World Bank Group provided over US$150bn in financing to support developing countries
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