UN Renews Push for Pandemic Preparedness, but Fails to Agree on Declaration
The United Nations has renewed its drive to keep pandemic preparedness on the global agenda, holding a high-level meeting on Friday that warned the next pandemic is a matter of “when, not if” — but member states failed to agree on a closing declaration.
Opening the day-long session on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, UN General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman urged the world not to forget COVID-19’s lessons, six years after the virus forced the leaders’ gathering to go virtual for the first time. He also pointed to the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, currently spreading in Congo.
In remarks delivered by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for equity, sustained financing and genuine multilateral cooperation, arguing that global readiness for the next outbreak must treat it as a certainty, according to the Associated Press.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told leaders that COVID-19 was linked to more than 20 million excess deaths between 2020 and 2023 and wiped over US$10 trillion from the global economy, adding that Friday’s political commitment reflected painful lessons learned.
However, the meeting ended without consensus on a draft declaration that was meant to cap it, with Rahman saying members would take it up in future. Since 2023, the world has adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement and amended the International Health Regulations, alongside new surveillance funds and programmes.
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