The World Health Organization today welcomed the historic commitment by world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly to strengthen the international cooperation, coordination, governance and investment needed to prevent a repeat of the devastating impacts. Health and socio-economic issues caused by COVID-19, ensure the world is better prepared for future pandemics and get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The first Summit of Heads of State on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response is a historic milestone in the urgent effort to make everyone around the world safer and better protected from the devastating effects of pandemics,” he said. said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO. “I welcome this commitment from world leaders to provide the necessary policy support and guidance so that WHO, governments and all stakeholders can protect people’s health and take concrete steps to invest in local capacity to ensure equity and to support the global health architecture for emergencies the world needs.
Underlined was the political declaration approved by Mr. Dennis Francis, President of the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly, and the outcome of the negotiations carried out under the able leadership of Ambassadors Gilad Erdan of Israel and Omar Hilale of Morocco fundamental role that the WHO plays as a “leading and coordinating authority in international health matters” and the need to “continue to advocate for sustainable financing that provides the World Health Organization with adequate resources” and predictable means with which it has the necessary ones resources to fulfill its basic functions.”
“The lived experiences of people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic must be at the forefront of our thinking going forward to realize the clear leadership of world leaders,” said Dr. Tedros. “We must learn to better protect our communities and engage, inform and empower them to be part of the solution.” We must build stronger clinical care systems that can save lives. This requires concrete actions that ensure equitable access to medical countermeasures, sustainable and adequate financing, empowered and engaged communities, and competent, trained and equipped health workers.
“The devastating impact of COVID-19 has demonstrated why the world needs a more collaborative, coherent and equitable approach to pandemic prevention, preparedness and response,” said Dr. Tedros.
Dr. Tedros pointed out that governments and multilateral partners have already begun to lay the foundation for a safer world with the establishment of the Pandemic Fund, the WHO Information Center on Pandemics and Epidemics, the WHO BioHub for the Voluntary Sharing of New Biological Materials and the Technology Transfer Center world to place mRNA vaccines.
However, Dr. Tedros added that the political declaration adopted on Wednesday called for further strengthening of the global health emergency architecture to better protect the world from a resurgence of COVID-19.
Among the many measures required, the political declaration recognized the need for Member States to:
- Complete negotiations on a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, also known as a pandemic agreement, and continue work to introduce specific changes to the International Health Regulations by May 2024 ( 2005).
- In line with the pandemic agreement process, ensure sustainable, affordable, fair, equitable, effective, efficient and timely access to medical countermeasures, including vaccines, diagnostic tests, treatments and other health products.
- Take measures to counter and combat the negative impact of misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and health-related stigma, particularly on social media platforms, on people’s physical and mental health, including combating vaccine hesitancy in the context of pandemic prevention, – preparedness and response, and build trust in public health systems and authorities, including through improving education, knowledge acquisition and public health awareness, while recognizing that effective stakeholder engagement ensures access to timely, accurate and evidence-based information Information and awareness are required, particularly through the use of digital health tools.
- Protect our communities by investing in primary health care and other health system interventions as part of our commitment to universal health coverage to ensure strong national health systems that can respond to future pandemics.
- Invest to ensure that the WHO is strengthened to the level necessary to fulfill its role in responding to pandemic threats. Sustainable funding of the WHO and national health systems is crucial to making the world a safer place.
- Strengthen health workforce and rapid response capacity, surveillance and supply systems, and local production capacities to strengthen all countries and enable them to meet their own disaster prevention, preparedness and response needs.
- Increase the capacity of health systems to address pandemic threats in low- and lower-middle-income countries, particularly in Africa.
- Counteract and address the negative impact of health misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and stigma, particularly on social media platforms, on people’s physical and mental health, to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and trust in public health systems and -establish authorities.
- Harness the potential of the multilateral system and expand the multi-sectoral approach needed to improve prevention, preparedness and response to pandemics due to the very different causes and consequences of pandemics, in order to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Following today’s adoption of the Political Declaration by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the United Nations made statements on the critical importance of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and the need for robust, coordinated and widespread global health Emergency architecture.