IMF and other global groups propose international pandemic plan costing $10 bln a year

Global groups propose pandemic plan at a cost of $10 bln a year Four organizations focused on global health and the economy say it will take $15 billion in grants this year, and another $10 billion annually after that to establish and maintain an adequate toolkit to respond to COVID-19 and address future pandemic threats. Julie Steenhuysen Reuters

CHICAGO, April 5 (Reuters) - ...

The estimate is laid out in "A Global Strategy to Manage the Long-term Risks of COVID-19," a working paper published on Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund, in partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Global Fund, and Wellcome Trust.

In the paper, the four global groups assert that ending the pandemic everywhere remains an urgent economic, health, and moral priority for the world.

"Given the many possible scenarios for the evolution of COVID-19 (from benign to severe) and given the limited resources countries have, we need a new strategy," Gita Gopinath, the IMF's First Deputy Managing Director, said in a statement.

The IMF estimated the pandemic resulted in $13.8 trillion in cumulative losses as of January 2022.

Gopinath said countries need vaccines, tests, treatments and an improved health infrastructure to tackle COVID-19 and other deadly diseases. ...