A closer look
The World Bank thought they could outsmart nature with financial derivatives. They issued 'pandemic bonds' designed to pay out to developing nations if a deadly disease outbreak occurred. However, the triggers were engineered to protect investors, not patients. During the 2018 Ebola outbreak in the DRC, the death toll didn't meet the hyper-specific, multi-country criteria, so the bonds sat idle, paying out massive 11% yields to hedge funds while people died. By the time the bonds finally triggered during COVID-19, it was months too late, proving that algorithmic catastrophe modeling is often just a casino for the rich.
