07/11/2020 - 11:25
- Clarín.com
- International
US billionaire Bill Gates asked to distribute the drugs and vaccines to those who need them and not to those who pay the most.
"If we let drugs and vaccines go to those who offer the most, rather than the people who need them most, we will have a longer, more unfair and more deadly pandemic, " said the founder of Microsoft, in a video message. at an international virtual conference on covid-19 , which was held as an extension of the AIDS conference , also virtual.
"We need leaders to make firm decisions for an equity-based distribution and not just on market-related factors," he said in a video recorded in Seattle.
Gates and his wife Melinda have a foundation that fights against pandemics.
The philanthropist, dedicated to fighting epidemics, noted that the pandemic had disrupted drug supply chains, including AIDS, which could "deprive hundreds of miles of people of the treatments they need, and not just in sub-Saharan Africa. "
"But I'm still optimistic," added Bill Gates. "We are going to win against covid-19 and we will continue to advance against AIDS and other health crises."
He said the researchers "are making great progress. Better diagnostic tools are being developed to identify those infected. Investments go to antiviral drug banks, a branch of science where there was underinvestment."
The second reason for his optimism is solidarity on a global scale, which has already manifested itself in the fight against AIDS, such as the Global Fund created in 2002, and the American aid program PEPFAR, launched by George W. Bush and aimed above all to sub-Saharan Africa.
With information from AFP
