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will always make the case that wealthy governments should be as generous as Sweden and Norway, both of which give more than one percent of their GDP in aid. But in tough times especially, we should also make sure that the spending achieves many things at once: For example, if money goes into buying more machines for diagnosing COVID or signing up more community health workers, it can be spent in ways that will still be useful once COVID subsides. (Diagnostic machines like LumiraDx will also be used to test for other diseases, including new respiratory pathogens.) [foundation team: What else would you add here?] *** The world's richest countries have a proud history of leading the way on innovation. The U.S. government, for instance, supported the research that led to the creation of the microchip, unleashing a flurry of advances that made the digital revolution possible. Without those investments, Paul Allen and I would never have been able to even imagine a company like Microsoft, much less actually make it happen. Or take a more recent example: the groundbreaking work being done on zero-emissions energy sources at national labs across the country. If the world can manage to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as I think it can, the energy research supported by the U.S. and its peers will be one reason why. When COVID struck, even the fumbling responses by some high-income countries couldn't hold back the innovations that would prove to be essential in fighting the disease. Crucial advances in vaccines were made by academics and companies in the United Kingdom