Why it matters
Climate change amplifies epidemics and raises the risks associated with pandemics. The Covid-19 pandemic reshaped the world’s economic, political, and environmental course. To mitigate future threats, the world needs a multisectoral, intercontinental, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and highly dedicated approach.
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lives were lost to infectious diseases in 2019, accounting for 14% of all deaths worldwide [World Health Organization]
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deaths attributed to Covid-19 globally in 2020 [World Health Organization]
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novel disease outbreaks are predicted in the coming decades compared with the past
Impact Stories
- When the Covid-19 pandemic began, only a single lab in Malawi was working to sample SARS-CoV-2 viruses in this country of 19.55 million people. Only four people were working in that lab. Our grantee CERI is working to change that.
- We turn to potent collaborations to think outside the box and drive change in this era of climate decision.
- A trust-based network of six Mekong Basin countries offers a visionary model for shared cross-border disease surveillance -- especially important as climate change alters disease patterns.
- On a continent with an average of 140 epidemics a year, Professor Happi's work is critical to averting future pandemics. But he readily acknowledges it exacts a toll. For starters, his staff hasn’t taken a break in two years.
