$4.5bn needed to prepare for global epidemics, says Wellcome

The Wellcome Trust has called for a globally coordinated approach to better manage epidemics, saying it would cost $4.5 billion a year.

The trust says $1bn (£790 million) should be used to fund R&D into epidemics, with the remaining $3.4bn of the proposed investment targeted at upgrading health infrastructure and capabilities in low and middle-income countries.

“Epidemics are not cheap—they are costly to fight, and have a big impact on economies,” says Wellcome. It says that epidemics currently cost the world $60bn a year—an amount that is “unsustainable”.