Bill Gates has spoken out on the harmful effects of conspiracy theories and social media attacks on him that have flourished online since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Gates was speaking at the launch of a report on how to get the 2015 UN's Sustainable Development Goals back on track after progress was hampered when the world went into lockdown.
He said world leaders had to focus on how to restore focus on the universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoyed peace and prosperity by 2030.
One of the obstacles is overcoming the false reports that have undermined the use of masks as barriers to infection, and specific efforts to blame deaths on Mr Gates.
These theories claim he promoted the pandemic as a means of implanting microchips in people.
"I'm very surprised by the course of these conspiracy theories and of course the ones involving me are completely incorrect," Mr Gates said.
"I hadn't been a part of conspiracy theories up until this and it's ironic because I talked about the risk of a pandemic in 2015."
The Microsoft founder said he made recommendations on how to prepare for new sources of infections and it was unfortunate that most of those things were not done.
One of the positive steps, which was backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or Cepi, which tries to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging diseases.
"A few were done, so now Cepi – which our foundation and a number of governments now fund, including recently Saudi Arabia – did some good work so we are now well prepared," he said.
"I hope the truth will get out and that people's behaviour to protect themselves and others will be strong.
"It is novel that you have a pandemic and you have social media, and somehow the true messages aren't as titillating or as exciting as the conspiracy-type message."
Mr Gates said it was hard to track how a recovery would set in, particularly for poorer countries, after the pandemic.
He said it could take a "decade plus" for the recovery in poverty rates to be complete.
"What we're seeing is that even though the epidemic is hitting developing countries, the young ages there mean that death rates aren't as high as in the richer countries," Mr Gates told The National.
"But the disruption affects other activities so the disruption is pretty dramatic."
According to the 2020 Goalkeepers' report on the UN's development goals, the crisis has thrust almost 37 million more people into extreme poverty.
That number had been falling for 20 years in a row until the health crisis.
"People living just above the extreme poverty line who have fallen below it because of Covid-19 were obviously vulnerable despite not being officially poor," it said.
"In the short term, social-protection payments and emergency business loans – exactly the types of programmes being used in high-income countries – can keep people from becoming extremely poor or help the poor avoid destitution.
"However, the longer the pandemic lasts, the worse its economic scars will be. But we can help people as they recover.
"As Goalkeepers has emphasised year after year, investments in human capital [such as health and education] are key to generating economic growth and creating resilient households that don’t just hover around the poverty line."
The consequences for hunger and famine were also damaging to the promotion of progress.
"It is important to note that, according to the UN, economic shocks will plunge between 83 and 132 million people into food insecurity," the report said.
Education also faces severe challenges, even as the prospect of widespread adoption of online learning could increase access and opportunities.
"Distance learning can help but remote learning opportunities are also beyond the reach of many students," Mr Gates said.
"While we don’t have exact numbers of students accessing [education] tech, for instance, less than one third of the population across Africa has access to broadband."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
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'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
Joe Root's Test record
Tests: 53; Innings: 98; Not outs: 11; Runs: 4,594; Best score: 254; Average: 52.80; 100s: 11; 50s: 27
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
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Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.
