The world of Tzu Chi June 2020 (Vol.123)

2020 • 06 10 eature Of baldness cures and viral outbreaks T he dangers of viruses and other microorganisms are well-documented, yet all countries differ in their commitment to pandemic preparedness. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned in a 2015 TED conference talk that the world is inadequately prepared for an epidemic. In retrospect, Gates’ prescient remark now resonates more than ever. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been tirelessly advocating epidemic prevention by funding vaccine development efforts, driven by the couple’s concern for unequal access to healthcare, particularly affecting impoverished or developing countries. Gates once highlighted at a conference: “The malaria vaccine in humanist terms is the biggest need, but it gets virtually no funding. If you are working on male baldness or other things you get an order of magnitude more research funding because of the voice in the marketplace than something like malaria.” He reasoned that our lack of preparedness in the face of a looming pandemic is partly due to the disproportionate amount of support for epidemic prevention initiatives. Governments tend The role of public health in the new normal By Yeh Yu-liu (Taiwan-based media professional) Adapting to a new normal, or regressing to old ways? Lockdowns and movement restriction directives have become the order of the day in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, upending the lives we used to know. After the pandemic recedes, will the new normal evolve into a permanent fixture in our post- Covid-19 world, or will our freshly-adopted habits eventually fade with the virus into ignorance?