Nearly 50% of Pandemic Costs Will Fall on Advanced Economies, World Government Summit Report Finds
5.5.2021 14:45:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
A seminal report launched by the World Government Summit Organization (WGS) which highlights 21 critical priorities within five focus areas offers a source of direction for governments as they tackle post-COVID-19 recovery.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210505005573/en/
The new WGS report ‘21 Priorities for Governments in 2021’ identifies five critical priorities in post-pandemic recovery (Photo: AETOSWire)
Wealthier economies will shoulder almost half the cost of the COVID-19 crisis, which could reach up to US$3.8 trillion in 2021, the report finds. That, even if developed economies can vaccinate their entire populace and developing economies can reach a 50 percent vaccination rate.
The report says mental health wellness, climate change and women’s empowerment are central concerns that will exacerbate if governments do not rebuild in a holistic, proactive manner.
His Excellency Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Government Summit Organization, said: “2020 will be remembered by history as the year of great disruption. While the world was woefully unprepared for the voracity of the virus, 2021 needs to be the year that defines humanity’s future and reshape societies to become stronger and more resilient.”
He added: “With great change comes great opportunity. Valuable lessons emerged over the past year, which we must heed as we recover. Our individual and collective actions as nations have important consequences not only for us, but for our children and the many generations to come after them: we must all be accountable to ourselves and each other.”
With governments’ focus trained on the pandemic over the last 18 months, underlying societal issues such as the mental health and climate crises have exacerbated, and could become as problematic as the public health emergency if leaders do not adapt their thinking, the report suggests.
The 21 priorities outlined by the report are broken down into five sections:
These five focus areas are:
- Reimagining and Reinforcing Key Public Institutions
- Competing in a Transformed Economy
- Navigating a Transformed Geo-Technical Order
- Repairing the Social Fabric
- Securing the Future
Please download the full report here:
About WGS:
The World Government Summit Organization is a global, neutral, non-profit organization dedicated to shaping the future of governments. The Summit, in its various activities, explores the agenda of the next generation of governments, focusing on harnessing innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.
The World Government Summit Organization operates at the intersection of government and innovation. It functions as a knowledge exchange platform that convenes leaders in the public and private sectors to collaborate with world-renowned experts in creating positive impact for citizens around the world. Including initiatives and events held throughout the year, the World Government Summit holds a flagship annual gathering in Dubai.
*Source: AETOSWire
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210505005573/en/
Contact information
Mahmoud Kandil, +97155126 6801
mkandil@apcoworldwide.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
VeriSilicon Introduces CPP2000 Camera Post-Processing IP for Embodied Robotics and Mobile Vision Applications3.7.2026 13:02:00 EEST | Press release
VeriSilicon (688521.SH) today announced its high-performance CPP2000 Camera Post-Processing (CPP) IP, expanding the company’s Image Signal Processing (ISP) solutions with advanced post-processing capabilities. By improving image quality and visual perception in mobile imaging scenarios, CPP2000 enables more reliable vision performance in robotics, drones, and other mobile vision applications. CPP2000 integrates multiple image processing technologies and can further optimize YUV images output from image signal processors. The IP supports image and video processing at up to 8K resolution and offers multiple hardware configuration options to meet diverse requirements in Power, Performance, Area (PPA), and latency across different applications. CPP2000 leverages the combined operation of multiple image processing technologies, including motion-compensated temporal filtering, advanced spatial noise reduction, chroma adjustment and dynamic contrast improvement, and edge enhancement. Together
Messer Acquires Singapore-Based Industrial Gas Platform; Japan Corporate Advisory Institute Advises Sellers3.7.2026 12:11:00 EEST | Press release
Messer, the world’s largest privately held specialist for industrial, medical, electronic and specialty gases, has acquired WKS Group, a Singapore-based industrial gas platform with operations across Singapore and southern Malaysia. Transaction terms were not disclosed. Messer reported consolidated sales of approximately EUR 4.5 billion for its 2025 financial year. Founded in Singapore in 1977, WKS Group comprises six companies and employs approximately 195 people across Singapore and southern Malaysia. The acquisition expands Messer’s operating footprint in Southeast Asia and strengthens its access to key industrial clusters across the region. “We are pleased to have completed this transaction with Messer, whose strategic vision makes them an excellent partner for WKS Group,” said Mr. Wong Koh Hoi, shareholder of WKS Group. “We appreciate JCAI’s professionalism and dedication throughout the process, and their expertise was instrumental in achieving a successful outcome.” Japan Corpora
Access Advance Welcomes Meta Platforms, Inc. and Alibaba Group to the Video Distribution Patent Pool3.7.2026 02:00:00 EEST | Press release
Access Advance LLC today announced that Meta Platforms, Inc., one of the world's largest distributors of video content across its Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp services, has joined the Video Distribution Patent Pool (VDP Pool) as a Licensee. Meta also joined both the HEVC Advance and VVC Advance pools as a Licensee. Alibaba Group, whose video infrastructure spans a wide range of video-based services across e-commerce, entertainment, and digital media platforms, was also announced as a VDP Pool Licensee this week. Meta and Alibaba joining the VDP Pool further reinforces the program’s market leading position in resolving the licensing issues around the use of modern video codecs, including VP9, AV1, HEVC and VVC, across all the diverse business models of internet video streaming. "A significant U.S.-based company like Meta joining as a Licensee is a milestone moment for the content distribution business and the VDP Pool," said Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance. "Meta reach
Kioxia Commences Sample Shipments of 10th-Generation BiCS FLASH™ Devices Delivering High Performance, High Capacity and Low Power Consumption3.7.2026 02:00:00 EEST | Press release
Kioxia Corporation, a world leader in memory solutions, today announced that it has commenced sample shipments of 1Tb (terabit) Triple-Level-Cell (TLC) memory devices utilizing its 10th-generation BiCS FLASH™ 3D flash memory technology.1 These will be primarily integrated into the company’s enterprise and data center SSDs, strengthening Kioxia’s lineup to meet the growing demand for AI storage, which requires higher performance, higher capacity, and lower power consumption. These new products will be manufactured using state-of-the-art equipment at Kioxia’s Kitakami Plant Fab2 facility in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. By leveraging innovative CMOS directly Bonded to Array (CBA) technology2 and On-Pitch Select Gate Drain (OPS) technology,3 both adopted since the 8th-generation BiCS FLASH™, the 10th-generation technology achieves a NAND interface speed of 4.8 Gb/s,4 a 33% improvement over the 8th generation. Bit density has increased by 59% by stacking 332 layers and improving lateral density
Bending Spoons S.p.A. announces closing of initial public offering2.7.2026 21:35:00 EEST | Press release
Bending Spoons S.p.A. (“Bending Spoons”), a leading technology company, today announces the closing of its initial public offering of an aggregate of 57,971,015 of its ordinary shares, at an initial public offering price of $29.00 per share. The offering consisted of 34,398,640 shares sold by Bending Spoons and 23,572,375 shares sold by certain selling shareholders (the “Selling Shareholders”). The gross proceeds from the offering to Bending Spoons, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, was approximately $953,917,285.50. Bending Spoons did not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the Selling Shareholders. Bending Spoons’ ordinary shares began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on July 1, 2026 under the ticker symbol “BSP”. Goldman Sachs International, J.P. Morgan, and Allen & Company LLC are acting as joint lead book-running managers for the offering. Wells Fargo Securities, BofA Securities, Jefferies, Evercore ISI, BNP
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom
