After cautioning the world’s populace that the planet is not equipped and not prepared to handle the Covid pandemic, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates is now worried about bioterrorism.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines bioterrorism as “the intentional release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs that can sicken or kill people, livestock, or crops.” Gates, in a Feb. 3 BBC interview, compared the threats posed by bioterror and pandemics. “Bioterror is a little harder to defend against, because whoever’s trying to do it,” Gates said, is doing it “consciously and understands your defense system, so they can be trying to design around them.”
Invest in health to combat bioterrorism
Gates has been calling for greater investment in technologies especially in detecting and responding to bioterror attacks.
In a 2021 interview with former UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt, Gates said he hoped to publish by 2026 a book called ‘We ARE ready for the next pandemic’ – and for biological attacks by extension – “but it’ll take tens of billions in R&D.”
Gates, the world’s fifth richest man and the second biggest contributor to the World Health Organization, believes the world needs to reinforce transnational collaboration and global health systems to guarantee that the world is better prepared against biological fears and terrorizations.
Still optimistic
However, although Gates spends a lot of time thinking about global threats, such as climate change and future pandemics, the Microsoft co-founder says he’s still “very optimistic” about humanity’s future on Earth.
Despite all the challenges confronting current and future generations, Gates says anyone born in the next few decades will be better off than people born at any previous point in history.
“I’m still very optimistic that it’d be much better to be born 20 years from now, 40 years from now, 60 years from now than any time in the past,” Gates said with enthusiasm.
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