“Covid-19 anywhere is Covid-19 everywhere,” Melinda Gates said as she called for global co-operation to beat the pandemic.
The philanthropist was speaking to Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 5 Live after President Donald Trump announced the US would stop funding the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – the second-largest funder of the WHO – has pledged a further $150m (£120m) to fight Covid-19, but she said they did not expect a vaccine to be available for 18 months.
Gates also said:
Her family had predicted a pandemic, making preparations including storing food, but had “hoped we would never see it in our lifetime”
When they saw the Wuhan data, she and Bill said – “Oh my gosh, this is actually happening”
“There are no tools, nothing we can do specifically, no drugs or vaccine. It is a disease we are all in together”
The UK has shown leadership by funding research because “the vaccine is the way to go”
De-funding the WHO now makes “no sense”.
