Microsoft founder Bill Gates has urged rich countries to put “a few per cent” of their gross domestic product towards finding and distributing a Covid-19 vaccine, highlighting a potentially huge shortfall in current investment levels.

In a video interview with the Financial Times, Mr Gates said that despite the economic strain developed countries were under, there was a “compelling” case to spend tens of billions of dollars to support the manufacturing and distribution of a vaccine that would also be accessible for the poorest countries.

“When you’re talking about making it easier to not have infection coming back into your country, you can make both a humanitarian and a self-interested argument that even a few per cent [of GDP] going against that for the rich countries would be a wise investment,” Mr Gates said.