COVID, mpox, cholera: Is the world prepared for another pandemic?

Some 4.5 billion people worldwide are currently without adequate access to essential healthcare services, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

This comes as more than 100,000 cases of mpox and at least 200 deaths have been confirmed globally, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, with the WHO declaring it a public health emergency earlier this year

A new COVID-19 variant has spread across 27 countries, infecting hundreds of people.

At the 2024 World Economic Summit, it was also revealed that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become the leading cause of death globally and could kill 10 million people by 2050

At the 2024 World Economic Summit, it was also revealed that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become the leading cause of death globally and could kill 10 million people by 2050

A report titled Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change on Human Health, launched earlier this year, predicts that by 2050, an additional 14.5 million deaths could occur due to climate change as well as $12.5 trillion in economic losses globally.

With healthcare systems across the world already under extra stress, they could face an additional $1.1 trillion burden due to the impact of climate change, the report added.

Al Jazeera spoke to Dr Ahmed Ogwell, vice president of global health strategy at the United Nations Foundation and former deputy director general for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on the current state of healthcare, the risk of infections and diseases across the globe and whether the world has learned any lessons from the coronavirus pandemic.