Speaking Topics

The Ricochet Effect: Global pandemics and business preparedness

A highly contagious, highly deadly pandemic like the 1918 Spanish flu could kill 200-400 million people and hit the global economy with the force of the Great Recession.

In a globally connected world, a pandemic that invades every continent hits every sector, and continues in over several years will disrupt supply, demand, and the ability of business, nonprofits, and governments to operate.

Using examples from swine flu, Ebola, Zika and other epidemics, Dr. Quick will describe how governments, businesses, and other organizations can keep the world working during a pandemic.

18 million Americans think about zombies. How many think about the next pandemic?

More than 18 million adult viewers tune in weekly to watch The Walking Dead, a blood-soaked zombie apocalypse story. The Walking Dead is closer to reality than you might think.

Somewhere out there, a killer virus is boiling up in the bloodstream of a bat, monkey, chicken or pig – preparing to jump to a human being, with the potential wipe out millions of lives in a matter of weeks or months.

Dr. Quick will talk about the part each of us can play – from personal health habits, to routine vaccination to collective action – to create a world where everyone is safe from devastating epidemics. The enemy isn’t zombie uprisings. The real enemy is complacency and inaction.

Pandemic Prevention in the 21st Century: The Best $1 We’ll Ever Spend

Governments, private philanthropy, the private sector, and communities could make the world much safer from pandemic threats by investing an additional $7.5 billion per year – an average of $1 for each person on the planet – to close fatal gaps in health system capacity, innovation, and emergency response.

Such an investment would not only save lives. For every $1 spent, it would also return up to $10 in reduced healthcare and indirect economic costs.

Drawing from smallpox, AIDS, avian flu, and other outbreaks, Dr. Quick will share vivid examples of successful, often heroic action to end epidemics and eradicate disease. He will also describe specific practical individual and collective actions that can end devastating epidemics.