Bill Gates has called for a new $1 billion World Health Organisation Pandemic Task Force to run "germ games" in preparation for future pandemics caused naturally or by bioterrorists.
The Microsoft co-founder's comments came in the second part of an interview for the Policy Exchange think tank with former UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt.
In the first part, Mr Gates said that rapid innovation was needed to meet the world's 1.5°C climate target.
In the sequel he was equally candid, condemning the world's lack of preparedness for the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was 2015 that I gave the Ted talk and wrote a number of papers titled, 'We're not ready for the next pandemic'," he said.
"And sadly that was a better forecast of what would happen than anyone would have wished for. The economic damage, the deaths – it's been completely horrific."
Mr Gates said a "new way of doing the vaccines" must be found and that the diagnostics were never "up and running in order to achieve what at least Australia and New Zealand showed, that competent management could keep the death rate down pretty dramatically".
He said he hoped that in the next five years he would be able to write a book that said the world was prepared for pandemics, but getting to this happier state would be costly.
"It'll take probably about a billion a year for a pandemic taskforce at the WHO level, which is doing the surveillance and actually doing what I call 'germ games'," Mr Gates said.
These games would involve role-playing situations where terrorists could seek to harness biological weapons to inflict global damage.
Mr Gates gave the example of a bioterrorist bringing smallpox to 10 airports, where advances in medical sciences should give the world the tools to "do dramatically better".
He said preparation for pandemics would bring a broader benefit to social health.
“The nice thing is a lot of the R&D we need to do to be ready for the next pandemic are things like making vaccines cheap, having big factories, eradicating the flu, getting rid of the common cold, making vaccines just a little patch you put on your arm, things that will be incredibly beneficial even in the years when we don't have pandemics."
Mr Gates said he would continue to advocate the preparedness message in years to come and believes people will willingly receive it after the loss "trillions of dollars and millions of lives".
"[They] expect their governments not to let that happen again,” he said.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Turkey - because the government look after animals so well there.
Favourite film: I love scary movies. I have so many favourites but The Ring stands out.
Favourite book: The Lord of the Rings. I didn’t like the movies but I loved the books.
Favourite colour: Black.
Favourite music: Hard rock. I actually also perform as a rock DJ in Dubai.
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
- 1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
- 2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
- 3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
- 4th ODI, Sunday, April 16
Squads:
- UAE: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
- Zimbabwe: Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
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The biog
Date of birth: 27 May, 1995
Place of birth: Dubai, UAE
Status: Single
School: Al Ittihad private school in Al Mamzar
University: University of Sharjah
Degree: Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Hobby: I enjoy travelling a lot, not just for fun, but I like to cross things off my bucket list and the map and do something there like a 'green project'.
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
New schools in Dubai
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars