On Saturday, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said that the Covid-19 pandemic could result in a global crisis that lasts for years, Businesstech News reports.
The WEF annual survey of global risks highlights infectious disease and livelihood as the main “clear and present dangers” for the following two years. The pandemic has also had certain knock-on effects such as so-called “bubbles” in the markets and instability, which are the main concerns for the next 3-5 years.
The WEF says “The ramifications – in the form of social unrest, political fragmentation and geopolitical tensions – will shape the effectiveness of our responses to the other key threats of the next decade.”
The impact of the pandemic may be dominant for the time being but other crises are likely to become key concerns in the years ahead according to the WEF survey. Weather, as it has been for the last few years, is also highlighted as a likely risk.
In this age of disinformation and fake news the WEF warned of the dangers of “amplifying hate speech, heightening the risk of conflict, violence and human rights violations, and threatening long-term prospects for advancing democracy.”
Commenting on the important of the preparedness of countries to deal with risks such as Covid-19, the WEF said “If lessons from this crisis only inform decision-makers how to better prepare for the next pandemic … the world will be again planning for the last crisis rather than anticipating the next,”