"If Not Now, When?": Pandemic Investigator Urges Reforms

The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response found that bad decisions, dithering and poor coordination created a "toxic cocktail" which allowed Covid-19 go on to kill at least 3.3 million people so far and upend the global economy.

One investigator behind Wednesday's explosive report highlighting the mistakes that allowed Covid-19 to flourish told AFP that urgent reform was needed to withstand future pandemic threats. The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response found that bad decisions, dithering and poor coordination created a "toxic cocktail" which allowed Covid-19 go on to kill at least 3.3 million people so far and upend the global economy. Panel member Michel Kazatchkine, a French diplomat and former director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, called for immediate action to ensure the world must never again face a "catastrophe" like the Covid-19 crisis. What is the aim of your report?