BRISBANE, November 15, 2014 – World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim today released the following statement on the G20 Leaders’ statement on Ebola:
“We welcome the call to action on Ebola by G20 Leaders today. This is an important commitment to combat Ebola and address the terrible human and economic impact of the outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Ebola is a global crisis. The G20 leaders’ statement is a clear signal to the global community that we must now unite, and in partnership muster all available resources to fight Ebola at its source to save lives and prevent its spread.
Epidemics do not respect borders. As G20 Leaders recognize, there is an urgent need to address the larger issues raised by pandemics such as Ebola, especially the need to strengthen health systems globally and build country preparedness.
We also welcome the G20 Leaders’ call for the World Bank Group to explore new flexible mechanisms to deal with the economic impact of future comparable crises. We are exploring a global pandemic facility that could use insurance and other market mechanisms to make resources immediately available and more broadly share costs and risks. This would save precious time and lives, and sharply reduce the impact and costs of pandemics.”
