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Inequality Is Driving Pandemics, but It Does Not Have To

The UN report links rising inequality to prolonged pandemics and economic disruption, noting Covid-19 pushed 165 million into poverty, experts warned.

  • On Nov 3, the United Nations warned in Johannesburg, South Africa, that high inequality increases pandemic risks and creates a vicious cycle ahead of G20 leaders' meetings this month.
  • Pandemics themselves increase inequality, driving a self-reinforcing cycle that deepens health and economic harms, while governments' fiscal choices via austerity starve social protection systems, the report said.
  • Researchers based the findings on two years of work by the UNAIDS-convened Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics, led by Joseph Stiglitz, Monica Geingos and Sir Michael Marmot, noting Covid-19 pushed 165 million into poverty while the richest grew wealth by more than a quarter.
  • Stiglitz will present the report ahead of the G20 on November 22 and 23, urging world leaders to boost pandemic preparedness with social protection investments and debt restructuring measures.
  • Failure to address inequalities risks leaving the world vulnerable to future pandemics, the report urged, emphasizing the need for equal access to treatments and an immediate IP waiver during pandemics.
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Inequality not only exacerbates the impact of pandemics, but also makes them more likely, and more lethal and costly, the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said Monday. In a new report released ahead of the G20 meeting to be held November 22-23 in Johannesburg, […]

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The Straits Times broke the news in Singapore on Sunday, November 2, 2025.
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