The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation expects the Japanese economy to suffer a devastating loss of ¥ 1.4 trillion (RM 54.4 billion) for the next five years if the COVID-19 vaccine is not distributed to developing countries such as Africa and Asia.
The report was revealed on Wednesday through the GZERO Summit conducted online.
The summit was chaired by Eurasia Group which also compiled the report.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a foundation founded by the founder of Microsoft Corp. Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda.
Based on the statement in the report, if the COVID-19 epidemic fails to be curbed in developing countries, the situation will lead to a decline in the number of tourists and students to Japan.
In fact, Japanese export manufacturing activities will also be affected.
The foundation also called for a fair distribution of vaccines, explaining that the pandemic would not recede if it only focused on one country.
The report emphasizes that Japan plays a key role in the framework of international cooperation such as COVAX, where several countries jointly purchase vaccines to provide access to other countries.
