United States

For the past couple of decades, Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has warned people about core issues like climate disasters and cyberattacks and has now stressed that two of his greatest concerns are the potential of a major global war and another pandemic. 

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Billionaire philanthropist Gates believes that rising tensions could trigger a conflict, and even if we avoid that, a new pandemic is likely within the next 25 years. 

Another pandemic most likely in next 25 years 

Gates told CNBC Make It, "A lot of unrest” in today’s world could spark “a major war,” adding that even "if we avoid a big war...then, yes, there will be another pandemic, most likely in the next 25 years." 

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Highlighting the Covid-19 pandemic, Gates said that although some lessons from the coronavirus pandemic have been learned, it's been far less than what he had expected. 

"We're still not fully reflecting on what we did well and where we fell short. Maybe in the next five years, that will improve, but so far, it's quite surprising," he added. 

Also read: Europe's economy defies difficult forecasts, still, faces new challenges

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Referring to the US, Gates said, "The country that the world expected to lead and be the model fell short of those expectations." 

In 2022, Gates wrote a book called "How to Prevent the Next Pandemic", in which he called out various governments. 

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However, some progress has been made with increased spending on pandemic preparedness in the US and other countries, he said, that the response across the world has not been enough. 

(With inputs from agencies)