Who lives and who dies in the next pandemic should not depend on where they live | Michael Marmot

The Covid pandemic was an equivocator with global unity to misquote the porter in Macbeth.

We were united in being affected by the pandemic but both its effects and responses to it were grossly unequal.

The greater the inequality within a country, the higher the HIV incidence, Aids mortality and Covid excess deaths.

Two serious efforts are needed: a pandemic response fund and a major effort to address unequal access to financing.

Key commitments should include ending punitive laws including criminalisation of marginalised groups and developing strategies for greater equity related to gender, disability and sexual orientation.

High-income countries may be reluctant to make financial guarantees and their pharmaceutical industries reluctant to do what is needed.