(Multi-stakeholder panel 1) High-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response - General Assembly, 81st session

Please.

I declare open the first multi-party roundtable of the GA on prevention, preparation and response to pandemics. It's my honor to welcome you to the first roundtable on the high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. It is my pleasure, as head of government of the Principality of Andorra, to co-chair this roundtable with His Excellency Mr. Geoffrey Hanley, the deputy prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in accordance with resolution 79333 of the resolution and as stated in the concept note and the various letters of the of the 28th and 2018, 2026. This multi-stakeholder panel will focus on the theme, the world together, multilateral action for coordinated pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, including the sharing of best practices and lessons learned so far. A summary of our discussion will be presented at the closing segment of the high level meeting at 5:30 PM in conference room one. Allow me now to make a few opening remarks. The COVID-19 pandemic, as like other recent health crises, has reminded us of one vital thing. No nation, no matter how large it is, no matter its level of development, is able to face world health crises alone. Prevention, preparation and pandemic response require strict international cooperation based on trust, solidarity and the sharing of responsibilities. Andorra, my country, and other countries, many of them, find that these tests have made it clear that we need to invest sustainably in resilient health systems and effective coordination mechanisms and thus make it possible to base policy decisions on viable, high-quality data. They also confirm the vital role of data transformation in our societies. We need to enhance the continuity of care and improve the reaction capacity in the face of emergencies. Innovation is no longer an asset, it's become a necessity. As a small state in terms of its territory, we've also measured, we've noticed how important international partnerships are to guarantee access to medical resources and the solutions that are needed in the face of a health emergency. That is clearly more important than ever today. This situation shows us that world health security is based on everyone's ability to contribute and to receive. While the international community has a number of tools and an enhanced cooperation framework, our common challenge is to reflect political decisions in lasting change. This requires a true multi-stakeholder approach, bringing together governments, international organizations, the scientific community, the private sector and civil society. I welcome the analyses of our speakers today, which I'm sure will contribute to identifying best practices and ensure that we have the best practices to build a more resilient and solidarity based system to face future risks. Thank you very much. And now call upon Mr. Geoffrey Hanley, the Deputy Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, to deliver an opening statement and to present our invited experts. Thank you.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to join you today as co-facilitator of this important high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. For Saint Kitts and Nevis, as a small island developing state, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored a fundamental truth. No country, regardless of its size or level of development, can protect itself from a pandemic alone. The pandemic also reminded us that preparedness cannot begin when a crisis arrives. It must be built before the emergency through resilient health systems, effective surveillance, and early warning capacities, a skilled health workforce, reliable supply chains, and sustainable financing. We must also ensure that preparedness is equitable Access to vaccine, diagnostics, technologies and other essential health products should not depend on geography or purchasing power. Countries with limited capacity must have meaningful access to the financing, technology and expertise needed to strengthen their resilience. and pandemic preparedness cannot be the responsibility of the health sector alone. It requires cooperation across government and across sectors, including on climate, food security, trade, finance and development. As co-facilitator, I call on Member States to turn our shared commitments into actions in three areas. First, strengthen national and regional capacities to prevent, detect and respond to health threats early. Second, secure predictable and sustainable financing for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. with particular attention to countries facing the greatest structural constraints. Third, reinforce international cooperation so that information, expertise, technologies, and essential health products can reach countries when and where they are needed. Our objective must be clear. to move from a cycle of crisis response to a culture of sustained prevention and preparedness. Saint Kitts and Nevis knows that resilience is built through partnership, thrust, and solidarity. These are not simple principles. They are necessities. Let us therefore use this meeting to renew our collective commitment to close the gaps that COVID-19 exposed. Let us strengthen the systems that protect our people. Let us invest before the next crisis. And let us ensure that no country is left to face the next pandemic alone. Thank you. I thank his excellency Xavier Espot, Zomaro, Prime Minister of Prime Minister of the Principality of Andorra for co-chairing with me and I'm now welcoming all of you to this panel. Before introducing the distinguished panelists, I would like to remind delegations that there is no pre-established list of speakers for this panel. I invite delegation wishing to speak in the interactive discussion that will follow the panelists' remarks to press the microphone button now. If your delegation is represented by the head of state of government, inform the secretariat colleagues accordingly. Representatives of civil society are invited to approach the WHO team at the desk by the door to indicate their interest to speak. I now have the pleasure to welcome our distinguished panelists. And apologies for the pronunciations. Mr. Kyu Don Kyu. Director General of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Miss Winnie Byamima, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, and I met her yesterday. Thank you. Dr. Sania Nishta, Chief Executive Officer of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and Ms. Joy Poonapi, Co-Chair of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, and Dr. Dennis Mukayajju, founder of the Panzi Foundation and Hospital and member of the Elders. We will now hear from our panelists. Thereafter, the floor will be open for comments, observations and questions. Panelists are requested to limit their presentation to four minutes.

I hereby give the floor to our first expert, Mr. Kiyu Donohue, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and I invite him to address the following question. How can countries and international partners increase investment and cooperation to strengthen surveillance, veterinary and food safety systems, laboratories, workforce capacity, and resilient supply chains, while ensuring equitable access to financing, technologies, and expertise.

Thank you, honorable Prime Minister from Mongolia, and the co-chairs. I'm so delighted to join these panelists to discuss the important... I have to say, a full system is automatically followed. He a little bit out. I'm sorry, dear colleagues, co-chairs, I'm so delighted to come to join you to discuss this important issues. Pandemic, I hope they will disappear, but unfortunately, always some years or no matter 100 years, they come back. But we have to prepare ourselves, especially nowadays with technology, with resources, we can do. we can manage to do, at least, with a strong political commitment, with a science innovation approach, with enabling policy, and more important, with all the partners to work together. That's why the food and agriculture, rural areas, is fundamental to prevent, prepare, next epidemic or pandemic, whatever, related to zoonotic disease, human disease. But if we did the health life, health environment, you need to have the food first. So we need to look at the one approach, one health approach, aiming the overall health. One health starts from soil health, water, plant health, animal health, and human health, of course, and they end up with environment health. That's my core message. Agro-food systems is the center of that. Because years, years, we have to produce more food with less input, less impact on the environment. Recently, just last week, we had the global conference at the Ministry from agricultural, health, environment, financial to come to Rome. we had the Action Plan Minister Conference on One Health Approach. The message was very clear, and if we launch the Global Partnership Program on Transboundary Animal Disease, now so far we have 120 members, ministers confirmed. That shows, strongly indicate, we want to design bigger to do concrete. How? We should understand the reality, based on data, based on evidence, based on science. Otherwise, you couldn't make the right decision. So data is number one, collection, analysis. Second, we need to convince the society, not only scientists, not only politicians, all the people, One Health, matter to everyone, every sector. And then we need a good examples to lead it. And finally, as an international organization, should be a good facilitator. The member should take ownership, like leaders. If we didn't pay enough attention to how to coordinate different minister work together, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Health, Minister of Environment, Minister Financial. I said you are talking about the vitamin A and B and C, but please, Prime Minister, talk vitamin M first, vitamin money, to support agriculture, support health, support the environment, support the farmers to do something concrete. So let's work together, make this change in a tangible way, not in the talk show way. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Koo, for your inspiring remarks.

And I now give the floor to Ms. Winnie Karagwa Byanyima, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, and I invite her to address the following question. A defining lesson from both the COVID-19 pandemic and HIV/AIDS is that a whole of society response is obviously critical. As we seek to strengthen multilateral action, how can we ensure that future pandemic preparedness is driven by global solidarity?

Mr. President, Thank you, Chair. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I lead the United Nations response to the AIDS pandemic. And over three decades, we have repeatedly relearned the hard lesson that the health sector alone cannot stop pandemics. AIDS, COVID, SARS, Mpox, Ebola, right now in DRSC, all have shown us that a whole of society response is not a nice to have, it is a necessity to stop pandemics. But when I look at national and global structures for preparedness, I do not see enough of that approach. After COVID, I convened the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics, to try and understand what drives pandemics from a whole of society perspective. The council's findings have important implications for how we think about preparedness. We found that countries with strong laboratories, stockpiles and surveillance and with high scores on preparedness indices, such as the Health Security Index or the Joint External Evaluation, JEE, index, sometimes had very poor outcomes. Meanwhile, countries with far less capacity did much better. And why was that? Inequality. The Council found that inequality fuels pandemics. More unequal countries had higher covid deaths, faster COVID spread, more HIV infections, and more AIDS deaths. And pandemics, in turn, widen economic gaps, leaving countries more unequal and more vulnerable to the next pandemic. So it's a cycle. We concluded that we need an inequality informed approach to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. We need to build this in our laws, in our national and global institutions, and in our financing. Let me give you an example. You go and tell a woman in an informal settlement or in a low-income community, whether in Rio de Janeiro or in Johannesburg or even here in New York. If you tell her to stay at home, not to work during a pandemic, when that means that her children will not eat, that is not public health advice she can follow. That is an impossible choice. But if the government, her government, has a plan to surge social protection. This is a decision coming from a Ministry of Finance, a Ministry of Social Protection. You make it possible for her to be a partner in a public health response, a whole of government approach. Preparedness must therefore be about more than detecting a virus, it must be about enabling people to act on public health advice. Between countries, the same inequality logic rules. In COVID, high-income countries had four times more money to spend than low-income countries. The pandemic was prolonged when a handful of companies had monopolies and decided which countries will get vaccines, when they will get them, in what quantities. We saw a similar pattern in AIDS before countries used their laws to carve out space and provide production for themselves across the world. So let us redefine what prepared means. Preparedness means community-led services that can reach the most excluded people, social protection systems that are ready to surge when crisis hits, data and rights systems that track inequality, not just pathogens. It means financing that protects countries from plunging into more debt during a pandemic. It means automatically waiving global patent rules on pandemic technologies so that countries collaborate to reach everyone as fast as possible. That is what is needed. We need, we have the science. We saw how quickly we got it during COVID. What we need is the solidarity and systems to make that science work. An inequality-informed, whole-of-society approach is what will enable this science that we have to stop pandemics. I thank you.

Thank you very much, Mrs. Winnifred Karakua-Bianima. I thank Ms. Bianima.

And I now turn to Dr. Sanya Nystad, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, G-A-V-I, the Vaccine Alliance. And I invite her to address the following question. What are the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent health emergencies that have proven most valuable in strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness and response at national, regional and global levels? And what best practices should be scaled up? Thank you very much.

Your question, from Gavi's perspective as a vaccine alliance, COVID-19 reinforced much of what we already knew. We know that vaccines are one of the most effective tools for controlling disease outbreaks and preventing their spread, but accessing and deploying these vaccines rapidly during outbreaks can prove challenging for a variety of different reasons. During pandemics, those challenges are of a different order of magnitude. We have learned from those experiences, and recent health emergencies have been a proving ground for several of the key tools that we have put in place and integrated into our existing capabilities. Vaccine stockpiles are one of these tools, and many of you will have seen the welcome news that Gavi established the new global stockpile of the mpox vaccine several weeks ago. Stockpiles are one of a number of different and complementary tools, including Gavi's surge financing mechanism, which is also called the First Response Fund. We can now draw on that fund to ensure that the accelerated deployment of vaccines in different contexts. To understand why vaccine stockpiles and the First Response Fund are so critical for global health security, let us consider three scenarios. The first scenario is an outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease for which Gavi has a vaccine stockpile. And I want to mention here that Gavi funds stockpiles against the cholera vaccine, the yellow fever vaccine, the meningococcal vaccine, the Mpox vaccine, and the Zaire species of the Ebola virus. And in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of times these stockpiles have been required has continued to accelerate over the years. Last year saw a new record of more than 60 outbreaks that required an emergency deployment of vaccines, with cholera outbreaks being the key driver of the increase. The reasons for the increasing trend are complex, with climate change, conflict, fragility, and the effects of vaccine misinformation all playing a role. And it is highly likely that recent cuts to bilateral aid for health programs will compound the issue. The strategic importance of vaccine stockpiles is therefore only going to, unfortunately, increase over time. I want to mention here that global stockpiles help to address the issue of unpredictable demand that in the past has weighed on the health and the sustainability of markets for vaccines used primarily for outbreak response. A strategic global vaccine stockpile ensures there's a predictable market for vaccines for outbreak response, thus providing manufacturers a signal to invest in producing a sustainable supply. And managing the stockpile at the global level as a public good ensures that available vaccines are accessible by every country in the world. Stockpiles, however, take time to establish. And in some cases, we may need to draw on a different type of rapid response tool to ensure access to emergency vaccines. Consider a second scenario in which there is an outbreak of a disease for which a vaccine is licensed for emergency use, but for which there is no strategic global vaccine stockpile. In such cases, it is essential that affected countries are able to rapidly access the number of doses required to respond effectively, save lives, and prevent cross-border transmission. For many countries, however, this may be more than they are able to afford. This is where a Gavi's emergency surge financing mechanism, the First Response Fund, is crucial. Activating the First Response Fund means that rather than having to appeal for funds and wait for donors to mobilize financing with knock-on delays for vaccine production, Gavi can rapidly access funds with which to purchase vaccines on behalf of all affected and at-risk countries in aggregate. Consolidating demand in this way sends a strong signal to manufacturers who respond by increasing production, ensuring that demand can be met. This is exactly how Gavi was able to ensure that half a million Mpox vaccine doses could be rapidly purchased and shipped to DRC and other affected countries during the 2024 Mpox emergency. There is also a third, more complex scenario in which we are confronted with an escalating outbreak of a disease for which there is no licensed vaccine. The lack of an effective vaccine against the Ebola Bundibugyo virus, for example, is one of the major factors contributing to the escalation of the recent Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC, as you're all aware. In cases such as these, the First Response Fund can make funds available to provide a pull incentive to manufacturers and accelerate access to vaccines once they are approved for use. You would have noticed that recently Gavi made an advance purchase commitment of up to $40 million to accelerate the development and deployment of new vaccines against the Ebola Bundibugyo virus. And this mechanism complements the work of our sister agency CEPI, complements their crucial work to accelerate upstream vaccine research and development. I want to emphasize that surge financing and strategic readiness through vaccine stockpiles go hand in hand to create a global mechanism for emergency vaccine deployment that strengthens the defenses of every country. These mechanisms are only possible through multilateral partnership and cooperation. And Gavi, as an alliance, is an embodiment of exactly this type of multilateral partnership, which delivers results. This principle of partnership is also at the heart of the Gavi Leap, our own transformation agenda, because in an increasingly low constrained environment, the path to greater impact is not through creating new structures, but through ensuring that existing actors play to the comparative advantage, align behind country priorities and shared outcomes. It is therefore vital that the broader PPPR architecture draws on the best of the multilateral mechanisms that already exist. It must integrate existing tools and focus on complementarity rather than duplication and fragmentation. But as I close, I must mention that there are important gaps beyond coordination that require urgent attention. I have previously argued that the establishment of similar tools for therapeutics and diagnostics is long overdue. But this would mean giving serious thought to whether new models of financing are needed to maintain stockpiles as a global public health insurance policy. And the question of whether the world needs a pandemic-sized surge financing tool to complement Gavi's First Response Fund and build further on that and integrate with it is a question that can be answered with a resounding yes. I want to emphasize here that Gavi's first response fund has a size of $500 million, and it has been extremely helpful and has delivered results when it comes to outbreaks. I referred to mpox. I cited the example of the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak, but it is not adequate for pandemic-level surge financing. And it is absolutely critical as conversations are underway, particularly at the World Bank, to develop a pandemic-level surge financing facility that the Gavi First Response Fund is built further upon. So one thing is certain. Finding answers to these questions now will make the world a safer place for us all when the next pandemic strikes. We hope the political declaration of this high-level meeting will be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, and it will be immediately implemented by countries and partners. We also hope that continuing negotiation on the PABSS annex will resolve many outstanding issues. And we look forward to seeing the full operationalization of the Pandemic Agreement as a vital step towards a future in which we are ready to prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemic threats. I thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Dr. Nishi.

I now invite Ms. Joy Punape co-chair of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, to address the following question: What role can broad inclusive partnerships, including other UN agencies, parliamentarians, regional organizations, civil society, private sector, and youth groups play to support multi-task holders, coordinated engagement for strengthened pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response at the national, regional, and global levels.

Thank you, co-chair, excellencies, esteemed panelists, colleagues, and friends. Over the past decade, the world has made important progress in strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. And when African leaders met and all development partners met in 2023 here at the UN for the first high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. They agreed major commitments to strengthen our collective preparedness. Three years later, as we take stock of implementation, we should be clear about the reality. Pandemic risk continues to outpace preparedness. Advancing the challenge of preparedness requires broad and inclusive partnerships. All development partners, all global leaders from every country on every continent. All governments, UN agencies, regional organizations, parliamentarians, civil society, the private sector, communities, young people, and even international funding partners, development banks, the Global Fund, the Pandemic Fund, foundations, Gavi, all have vital roles to play at national, regional, and global levels. These partners are essential, not only for implementation, but also for identifying risks and vulnerabilities, bringing different resources and perspectives, into preparedness decisions and generating and sharing evidence about what works and what does not work. But effective partnerships require more than bringing the right actors and resources together. They need to be working from the same evidence base with a common, independent, trusted and frank assessment of pandemic risk and preparedness. For this reason, comprehensive global monitoring is essential. It is crucial to identifying emerging risks and preparedness gaps, sustaining political attention and actually action as well between crisis and providing governments and partners with a common basis for coordinated action. Yet, comprehensive global monitoring remains an unfinished part of the preparedness architecture. This matters. Monitoring must tell us whether key commitments, such as those on equitable access to medical countermeasures and sustainable preparedness financing, are translating into impact, access and investment at country level and driving action and accountability where they are not. For the past eight years, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board has worked hard to track global preparedness, identify critical vulnerabilities and keep Next month at the World Health Summit, we will publish our forthcoming insights report, drawing together the lessons from that experience and setting out priorities and recommendations for the future of global pandemic risk and preparedness monitoring. One lesson is clear. We must be prepared. Monitoring must evolve to match the risks that the world faces. It must capture the full picture of pandemic risks through a One Health approach across human, animal, and environmental health, and show where vulnerabilities are accumulating, where preparedness is lacking, and where action is needed before those risks become crisis. As countries move forward with implementation of the pandemic agreement, the amended international health regulations and other pandemic prevention, preparedness and response commitments, we need to know where these efforts are collectively making the world safer. We therefore urge member states and all partners to use the World Health Assembly to establish a modern global mechanism with independent monitoring capabilities for pandemic risk and preparedness. One that brings existing information together and provides a comprehensive, independent, trusted, and frank assessment of whether the world is prepared and where it remains vulnerable and where progress is failing. It should identify emerging risks and persistent gaps and give leaders the evidence they need to act through the Assembly, the World Governance, the World Bank's governance, and the UN General Assembly. The world should not need another pandemic to reveal where the gaps are. We know many of them already. What is needed now is the political commitment to keep them visible, address them systematically, and act before the next crisis arrives. That is the challenge before us today. and the responsibility we share. Requiring the adoption of a strong political declaration. From our heads of state. I thank you.

I thank Miss Punapi. And I now turn the mic over to Doctor Dennis Mukuyu. Founder of the Pansi Foundation and Hospital. And also the Nobel Prize of the elder and member of the elders to address the following question. How can member states strengthen multilateral cooperation and solidarity to improve coordination, trust, transparency, and collective action during a future health emergencies while respecting national sovereignty?

Merci, excellence.

Thank you, your excellency. Ladies and gentlemen, It's an honor for me to address you today at this high-level meeting. While we are meeting here in New York, the Ebola epidemic, which has progressed faster than any other recorded in my country, is ravaging my country and has been for months. The epidemic illustrates the consequences in terms of pandemic prevention when the world neglects a war for 30 years and allows a health system to collapse to the detriment of the population. An epidemic that should have been contained locally has become the deadliest in the history of my country. The way in which we bring our efforts together to contain this virus is a real-time test of our global commitments and of our solidarity in the face of such threats to public health. Effective cooperation must strengthen states' capacity to decide and act in full awareness that Pathogens, diseases, respect neither frontiers nor ceasefire lines. National sovereignty, therefore, and multilateral cooperation are not contradictory, they are complementary. They advance the respective roles of the national authorities, regional organizations, the WHO, and international partners. in order to avoid fragmentation and parallel structures, which sometimes hinder states' authority in emergency situations. There are those who worry that multilateralism is facing a crisis and is becoming an overly abstract concept to have any relevance in the eyes of those in the conflict areas. Ladies and gentlemen, I will be very clear. For the inhabitants of Ituri and North Kivu, multilateralism is not an abstract concept. It is a question of life or death. It is the difference between a vaccine that arrives in time and a vaccine that has to be waited for while families are being decimated, I would like to underline four key principles which should govern all debates on PPPR. Firstly, speed and equity are essential. The capacities necessary in these two areas must be developed well before any epidemic appears, and they mustn't be improvised in the middle of the crisis. So we must have transparent, mutual mechanisms for sharing data, sequences, and epidemiological information, which must be accompanied with guarantees regarding the use of those data and the sharing of benefits. That's something we are waiting for, perhaps the PABS annex, P-A-B-S, can bring everyone together on that. Solidarity is the second vital question, especially once the crisis is no longer in the headlines. We must support each other and work together at every stage. from prevention to recovery. But solidarity cannot mean that the countries that are at the origin of samples and data have to wait at the back of the queue to have access to the resulting products. Thirdly, partnerships are crucial and the most robust are those that result in a transfer of capacities and not only a transfer of resources. Putting the affected countries and their scientists at the center of knowledge collection and the governance of ideas and the design of research and interventions. Lastly, coordination is key. Pandemics are never just health crisis. They require a holistic approach involving the whole of government and the whole of society, taking into account the links between conflicts, poverty, discrimination, lack of education. And we can see in the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that it's women who are most affected, so gender is also essential. This is an essential condition to establish trust and confidence, and that is often our most valuable asset in reacting rapidly to pandemics. Let us prepare now to face future pandemic threats, because it is inevitable that they will occur. Thank you very much.

Thank you, His Excellency.

I now invite delegations to engage our panelists in an interactive discussion. As indicated earlier, there is no pre-established list of speakers. Those wishing to take the floor are invited to press the microphone button and to request the floor, we will call on delegations in the order they press the microphone button to request the floor. Heads of state or government will be given priority. If your delegation is represented by the head of state or government, or if you're speaking on behalf of a group of states, please inform the secretary. Civil society organizations wishing to speak should approach the WHO team at the desk by the door. The floor will be given in rotation to representatives of Member States, observers or United Nations entities, and civil society organizations. Agreed time limits are two minutes for individual delegations and three minutes for statements made on behalf of a group of States. I would like to appeal to speakers to deliver their statements at a reasonable pace and to send a copy of their statements to the e-mail e-statements@un.org in order to facilitate interpretation into the other official United Nations languages. I appeal to all participants to respect the agreed time limits to ensure that as many speakers as possible have the opportunity to deliver their statements. A countdown clock is visible on the screen to alert speakers when it's time to conclude. In case speakers exceed their time limit, the microphone will be automatically deactivated. I apologize in advance if speakers are cut off. As delegations have been informed, due to high interest in the panel, we unfortunately have to resort to these measures to hear from as many speakers as possible in the limited time available. Thank you in advance for your understanding. Finally, I wish to recall the letter circulated by the President of the General Assembly on 16 September in which he announced that for each speaker, the floor will be given without reading the name and title of the speaker. I hand over to my co-chair to call the first member state to make an intervention.

I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Nigeria, to be followed by South Africa and Thailand. South Africa.

Thank you very much to the coaches and the panelists. South Africa welcomes the focus of this panel as we still have fresh memories of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our scientists were among the first in the world to identify both the Beta and the Omicron variants of COVID-19 through genomic surveillance capacity, which we had built over some time. Our reward in both cases was not solidarity, it was universal travel bans imposed on us and our neighbors, applied very swiftly and with little scientific justification, even as the variants had already spread and as they were informed as such. That experience remains for us the clearest lesson that pandemic transparency must be met with trust and not punishment. A country that shares data early should never be penalized for doing so. The incentive structure must be a reward for the disclosure and not discouraging the disclosure. From this and other experiences, We draw three points for this panel. One, first, inclusive multilateralism. Developing regions must be co-designers of the global health rules and early warning systems, not merely subjects of decisions made already. Secondly, an operational One Health and whole society approach. bridging human, animal and environmental health and embedding community trust at every level must be developed and must be embraced by all. Thirdly, binding solidarity. Voluntary measures proved insufficient during the COVID-19 pandemic. Coordinated multilateralism requires enforceable commitments, not discretionary gestures that can disappear under domestic political pressure.

I thank the representative for South Africa. And I would like to remind all the speakers to kindly observe the time limits of two minutes for individual delegations. and three minutes for statements made on behalf of the group of states. I now invite Thailand to take the floor.

Excellencies, distinguished participants, COVID-19 made one thing clear: preparedness is a national responsibility, but pandemic security is a shared responsibility. For Thailand, three lessons should guide our collective action. First, we must build preparedness before a crisis begins. Strong primary health care, surveillance, laboratory, and a skilled workforce form the foundation of national resilience. But preparedness must also be rooted in community. Thailand's network of more than one million village health volunteers demonstrates That community are not simply beneficiary of preparedness. They are partner in preparedness and task action in early detection, risk communication, and response. Second, national preparedness must be connect across the border. Health move quickly information and cooperation must move faster. And early warning method only when it lead to assessment shared decision and early action. Thailand believes regional mechanisms, particularly Asian, must serve a bridge between national preparedness and global health security by building trust, sharing information and coordinating action across the border with full respect for national sovereignty. Third, multilateral commitments must deliver results the value of the amendment of to the international health regulation and the WHO pandemic agreement will ultimately be measured by what they change on the ground, the implementation should be first, rather than duplicate country-led system.

Thank you very much. I now invite Brazil to take the floor.

Thank you, President. The COVID pandemic taught us that global health security cannot achieve without equity. One of the clearest lessons was that inequities in access to vaccines, medicines, diagnostics, and other health technologies can undermine our collective response. For Brazil, strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, therefore, requires more than developing new technologies. It requires ensuring that these technologies are accessible to all, including through local and regional production, technology transfers, and strong health systems. As Minister Alexandre Padilha often states, innovation without access is not innovation, it is injustice.

Investing in productive capacities is not only an expression of solidarity, It is a strategy for collective security. We also learned that trust is a critical component of preparedness.

Disinformation can undermine vaccination, public health measures, and confidence in institutions. Transparent, evidence-based communication, and meaningful engagement with communities must therefore be integral to pandemic preparedness. At the global level, no country can face a pandemic alone. Brazil remains firmly committed to multilateral cooperation and particularly engaged in finalizing the PABS annex negotiation to stabilize an equitable pathogen access and benefit sharing system in which rapid sharing of pathogens and sequences.

Goes hand in hand with our benefit sharing. Finally, whole government and whole society and One Health approach.

Thank you very much, Your Excellency. We now invite France to take the floor.

Thank you very much, Mr. Co-Chair. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to first of all thank the panelists for their very enlightening interventions. The COVID-19 pandemic was truly a shock. It reminded us that viruses do not respect borders and that no country, no matter how powerful it is, can confront a global sanitary crisis by itself. That is the very meaning of the pandemic agreement that was adopted in May of 2025 after three years of negotiations. And France had the honor of co-chairing the intergovernmental negotiating organ together with South Africa. And today, France would like to convey a very clear message. The adoption of the pandemic agreement in the World Health Assembly was a historic step forward in terms of multilateralism, sanitary security, and equality. But the entry into force of the agreement depends on the adoption of the annex regarding access to pathogens and sharing of benefits, the PAPS that is currently being negotiated in Geneva. after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. And after so many efforts, we cannot accept to have to confront another pandemic with the same vulnerabilities in terms of preparation and response and equity. With the Pops Annex, we have a concrete opportunity to change the status quo. The finalization of negotiations of this annex is urgent now. You can be assured that France will will make all means available to allow for the rapid conclusion of the negotiations because protecting the health of populations is ensuring peace, security, stability, and the future of our societies. Thank you.

I thank the representative of France, and I now invite UNICEF to take the floor.

Preparedness has to exist not only in international declarations, national plans and institutions, but in the everyday life of communities. The current Ebola outbreak illustrates that starkly.

In some of the main.

Outbreak hotspots, use of essential health services fell by 42 per cent, with routine childhood vaccinations falling by more than half, alongside declines in antenatal care and safe deliveries. An outbreak threatens children not only through the disease itself, but by disrupting the services and everyday life on which children and families depend. We therefore need to build a stronger long-term bridge between health systems and communities. In an emergency, we need to build trust quickly to find cases, change behaviours and stop transmission. However, real preparedness means building trust in systems over years through health services, community health workers, schools, faith-based actors.

Women's and youth groups and the networks that communities rely on.

Every emergency investment should leave something behind: stronger front-line workers, better local systems, enhanced community networks and greater trust. That creates a cycle for enhanced preparedness. Emergency investment addresses a crisis but also strengthens routine systems and protects essential services. Strong routine systems build long-term community trust, and informed communities that trust the system are better prepared when the next emergency comes. Preparedness plans, declarations and financing should reinforce national leadership and country ownership, align with locally determined priorities, strengthen systems, build trust and leave countries and communities more resilient for the future.

UNICEF, along with other partners.

Remains committed to supporting countries, working collaboratively with stakeholders to strengthen preparedness for the next pandemic. Thank you.

Thank you very much, UNICEF. I now invite Croatia to take the floor.

Presidents, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The recent pandemic demonstrated that global health security is a shared responsibility. For Croatia, this means strengthening health systems, our health workforce, surveillance and the capacity to respond to new risks. At the same time, no country can address major health emergency alone. Croatia supports a coordinated European and global approach while fully respected national competencies based on clear commitments, timely informed sharing and the capacity to support each other when it matters. International agreements and frameworks are important, but their value ultimately depends on implementation. This requires political commitments, adequate resource and accountability. The recent pandemic also reminded us that preparedness goes beyond the health sector. Through the One Health approach, we need to address risk at the intersection of human, animal and environmental health. Our task now Now it turned to the lesson of the recent pandemic into practical action, investment and sustained preparedness. Croatia remains committed as an EU member state. In this effort, we should also remember the enduring legacy of Croat Dr. Andrija Stampar, whose vision of public health, rooted in prevention, solidarity, equality, and international cooperation, remains as relevant today as it was in his time. His legacy reminds us that health security is not only about responding to crises, but also about building resilient societies and ensuring that health and protection are accessible to all. Thank you a lot.

I thank Croatia for the presentation. I now invite India to take the floor.

Thank you, Chair. India appreciates the opportunity to reflect on the lessons from COVID-19 and recent health emergencies. preparedness cannot begin with an outbreak; it must be built before the outbreak. Preparedness must be institutionalized by integrating capacities under amended IHR, emergency workforces, and sustainable financing into national health systems. We must detect and act early through One Health surveillance, supplemented by genomic surveillance, interoperable digital health systems, and resilient laboratory networks with responsive biosafety and biosecurity practices. Surge capacities must be built before a crisis, including trained emergency workforces, medical countermeasures, oxygen, laboratories, logistics and resilient supply chains. India advocates a whole of government, whole of society, all hazards approach with equity as an operational pillar of PPPR, supported by local and regional manufacturing, technology transfer, diversified supply chains, and predictable access to medical countermeasures. At the regional level, we should strengthen cross-border surveillance, laboratory collaboration, pooled procurement, regional manufacturing, and mutual assistance. Globally, we need rapid information sharing, predictable financing, coordinated R&D, and effective implementation of the amended IHR while respecting sovereignty and ensuring responsible pathogen and data sharing. India remains committed to translating COVID-19 lessons into stronger, equitable, and sustainable preparedness for future health emergencies.

Thank you.

I thank the representative of India and now invite Japan to take the floor.

Thank you, Co-Chairs. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us a fundamental lesson. Pandemic PPR cannot be built during a crisis. It must be built beforehand through sustained investment in resilient health systems. I would like to highlight three points. First, Japan believes that strengthening PPR requires continued investment in institutional learning. While Japan recorded one of the lowest COVID-19 mortality rates in the world, the pandemic also exposed challenges, such as fragmentation in the chain of command and coordination mechanisms. In response, Japan has strengthened its capacity for PPR through the establishment of a control tower at the cabinet level and the Japan Institute for Health Security. At the global level, Japan has also contributed to strengthening PPR through international cooperation. This includes support for Ebola and mpox response efforts in Africa, as well as support for the establishment of the ASEAN Center for Public Health Emergency and Emerging Diseases, or ACPHEED. Second, the international community has achieved important milestones, including the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement and the amendments to the IHRs. The priority now is to conclude negotiations on the annex to the agreement toward effective implementation. Moreover, we need a more equitable, effective, and efficient global health architecture. Japan is committed to the WHO-hosted GHA reform joint process as a task force member. Third, Japan believes that the lessons and investments regarding PPPR should contribute to broader efforts to strengthen health systems and advance universal health coverage, or UHC. Through initiatives such as the UHC Knowledge Hub in partnership with the WHO and the World Bank, Japan supports policy learning and capacity building to help developing countries strengthen health financing and develop sustainable capacities. As we look toward the UNGA high-level meeting on UHC in 2027, Japan is committed to advancing PPPR and UHC with all partners. Thank you.

I thank the representative from Japan and invite Poland to take the floor.

Thank you, Chair, Excellencies. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us many lessons. It demonstrated the fundamental importance of resilient health systems and the essential role of health professionals. It also showed that the early detection of health threats and the timely exchange of information are critical to protecting public health and saving lives. But perhaps the most important lesson is that preparedness begins with trust. Trust between governments and citizens, trust between countries, trust in science, and trust that when a crisis comes, the international community will act together. When the next pandemic emerges, it will not ask whether countries are large or small, rich or poor. It will test how well we have prepared and how well we work together. As the homeland of Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Poland strongly believes in the value of international scientific cooperation. Knowledge grows when it is shared. The same is true for pandemic preparedness. We believe that multilateralism has a central role in protecting global health. The progress achieved in recent years shows what can be accomplished when countries work together. Every country has something to contribute and something to learn. Some countries have developed effective early warning systems. Others have improved community engagement, vaccination programmes, emergency response, or digital health solutions. This is why multilateral cooperation with a focus on common goods is so important. Preparedness is not only about responding to the next crisis. It's about building stronger health systems every day. We need strong surveillance systems, effective information sharing.

We thank the representative. from Poland, and I invite my co-chair to introduce the other speaker.

I give the floor now to the representative of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, thank you. I Let me begin by welcoming the declaration text and its commitment to multilateralism and cooperation on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. On behalf of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, I strongly endorse the declaration's inclusion of the goal to make vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics available within the first 100 days of a pandemic threat. Until now, this goal had been carried by the G7, and the G20. Now, it will be fully owned by the United Nations. It is clear that speed in delivering medical countermeasures is fundamental to security and equality and equity. One of the tragedies of COVID was that the science moved quickly, but access did not. Hitting the 100 days mission requires globally connected research, manufacturing, and regulatory networks that are built, tested, and exercised before a crisis, with geographically distributed capabilities that enable regional access to medical countermeasures. These are the central goals of CEPI's work. We aim to strengthen vaccine development for priority pathogens, advance adaptable platform technologies, and connect global networks so they can act as one system when threats emerge. No single government institution or company can do this alone. CEPPIS coalition model unites public, private, and civil society partners to transform political commitment into real-world readiness. The current Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak reminds us that we must strive to work together to support the development and manufacture of timely, affordable, and accessible medical countermeasures.

I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the United States.

Chairs and distinguished delegates, thank you for having us. The United States firmly believes that coordinated action for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response works best when it is built on a solid foundation of national action, self-sufficiency, and core national capabilities in every country. Countries that can reliably detect, assess, and respond to threats at home are also the most capable and consistent partners in stopping emerging threats before they disrupt lives and economies around the globe. The U.S. supports advancing coordination through bilateral, regional, non-governmental, private sector, and multi-sectoral engagement rooted in transparency, evidence, and results. International coordination has been slowed by bureaucratic and institutional interest, and we believe coordination should be judged by what it delivers, timely outbreak prevention, detection, reporting, and responses that prevent international spread, not by the structure put in place to manage it. For this region, the US emphasizes direct government-to-government partnerships, as well as partnerships with faith-based and private sector innovators. These partnerships are focused on measurable capacity building, strengthening the performance of disease surveillance and response systems, and enhancing national preparedness and transparency. Sharing practices and lessons only has value if countries are forthcoming about what has worked and what has not worked. Maintaining political momentum for collective efforts requires maintaining focus on tangible outcomes. We encourage member states to anchor progress in these tangible gains, and the United States remains committed to working together with other member states to strengthen coordinated national, regional, and international actions, and we look forward to continuing honest exchange of lessons and successful practices as a part of this effort. Thank you very much.

Thank you. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Sweden.

Thank you, Chair. Excellencies, colleagues, Sweden believes that effective multilateralism remains our best tool for preventing, preparing, and responding to future pandemics. and it must be guided by four principles: equity, effectiveness, accountability, and results. We highly value the work of our multilateral partners, including WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, the Global Fund, UNFPA, and IVI. At the same time, there are evident shortcomings of today's architecture and growing demands for a more coherent and efficient system. The global health ecosystem should not shy away from genuine reform. Organizations must be complementary rather than duplicative, focusing on outcomes and reaching those often left behind in health emergencies. Looking ahead the coming year, it is essential that the WHO-led reform process delivers and that we successfully conclude negotiations of the annex to the pandemic agreement. Sweden welcomes the Accra reform initiatives by emphasis on country ownership, accountability, effective delivery of global public goods, and genuine international solidarity. National leadership must remain at the center of implementation, while the international community provides the support and funding needed to address shared threats, including antimicrobial resistance through a One Health approach. Strong primary healthcare systems, equitable access to services, and respect for human rights, including SRHR, are not separate from pandemic preparedness, they are a prerequisite. Excellencies, pandemics do not recognize borders. Our response cannot be constrained by them either. Through renewed multilateralism, stronger institutions and greater accountability, we can build preparedness systems that is more equitable, more resilient and better equipped to protect all people. Thank you.

I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Egypt.

Mr. Chair, Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, the COVID-19 pandemic was a defining test of our global health architecture, but it was not our last test. Since then, the international community has continued to confront outbreaks and health emergencies, including MPOX, Ebola, Marburg, and cholera, alongside humanitarian crises that have placed additional pressure on already fragile health systems. These experiences reinforce one fundamental lesson: Preparedness cannot be designed around a single pandemic. It must be a permanent capacity to anticipate, prevent, detect, and respond to a changing landscape of health emergencies. For Egypt, the first lesson is that resilience must be built into health systems before an emergency occurs. Preparedness is strongest when it's embedded in the systems that serve populations every day. The second lesson is that no country can manage a cross-border health threat alone. National leadership and sovereignty remain essential. but they must be complemented by effective multilateral cooperation based on trust, transparency, and timely information sharing. The WHO Pandemic Agreement, including its pathogen access and benefit sharing system, provides an important opportunity to translate political commitments into practical cooperation, greater trust, and greater equity. We must also recognize that preparedness is not the responsibility of health ministries alone. It requires a whole of government and whole of society approach, and One Health must become operational. The drivers of disease emergence do not respect institutional boundaries, and prevention must therefore begin at the human, animal, and environmental interface. Egypt, therefore, believes that our objective should be clear to move from emergency preparedness as a periodic exercise to resilience as a permanent national and global capability. Preparedness must be continuous, cooperation must be trusted, and solidarity must be translated into action. I thank you.

Thank you. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Slovenia.

Thank you, Chair, Excellencies. Slovenia's experience shows that preparedness requires sustained investment in public health institutions, a skilled and retained workforce, and public trust. Practices worth scaling up include timely public alerts to primary care providers, adaptable laboratory and sequencing capacity. interoperable surveillance and data systems, continuous training of the public health and epidemiology workforce, community engagement and joint simulation exercises. Member States should strengthen cooperation through timely notification, risk assessment, cross-border exercises and practical arrangements for mutual assistance. On the EU level, the joint procurement of medical countermeasures and the work of HERA shows How solidarity can be made operational rather than declaratory and comparable mechanisms deserve support at the regional and global level. At the same time, the WHO key coordinating role and implementation of the International Health Regulation and well-resourced national IHR focal points remain essential. Public trust depends on transparent communication of evidence and uncertainties, while solidarity requires sustainable support for national capacities. Inclusive partnerships make preparedness more responsive to people's needs. Such cooperation should be sustained throughout planning, implementation and evaluation, with meaningful participation across generations and particular attention to vulnerable groups. public institutions, academia, civil society, and the private sector should contribute to clearly defined roles. We could academia supporting independent evidence and evaluation and industry contributing manufacturing and supply capacity under agreed terms. Thank you.

Thank you. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the United Nations Development Program.

Chair, Excellencies, pandemics are not only health emergencies, they are development crises that expose and deepen weaknesses in existing systems. UNDP's experience points to three lessons. First, pandemics do not emerge in a vacuum. Risk is greatest where vulnerabilities intersect. Climate and environmental pressures that increase pathogen spillover, low trust in institutions, poverty, inequality, conflict. Greater attention to prevention, including through a One Health approach, is essential in addressing these underlying drivers. Second, pandemic preparedness cannot be built as a standalone crisis architecture or treated as the responsibility of the health sector alone. The systems that help countries prevent and respond are also essential in development and resilience. capable institutions, reliable data and digital infrastructure, inclusive social protection, and public trust. Third, equitable access to life-saving health technologies must guide us. This requires sustainable financing, technology transfer, manufacturing and regulatory capacity, reliable procurement and supply chains, and the ability to deploy vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics when and where they are needed. Finalizing the PAPS annex will be crucial in this regard. Access across all three, country and community ownership and agency are central. But this cannot mean shifting disproportionate burden and responsibility onto resource-constrained countries. Domestic investment and international solidarity must go hand in hand, and UNDP will continue working alongside countries and partners to strengthen the policies, institutions, and capacities that underpin pandemic prevention, preparedness, and.

Response.

Thank you. I now give the floor to the Distinguished Representative of Canada.

Thank you to the Distinguished Chair and my fellow delegates for the opportunity to speak this morning. We meet at a time of significant change in the global health landscape. Amid geopolitical shifts, operational challenges, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events, pathogens of pandemic potential continue to emerge. The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a stark reminder of why our work remains essential. It demonstrates the importance of early action and strong national and international cooperation to contain outbreaks and protect communities. Canada firmly believes that global collaboration is critical to preventing, preparing for, and responding to pandemic health threats through whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches that are grounded in equity, in sustainable country ownership, and in local and regional capacity. Canada also believes that preparedness must include action to promote community resilience, including in mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and gender equality. At home, Canada is advancing its pandemic preparedness plan in partnership with provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous partners to strengthen readiness for future pandemics. Canada also has implemented a scalable all-hazard emergency response plan to coordinate federal support during emergencies. Through close collaboration across governments and with key partners, we can ensure that support reaches those most at risk and better protect health both in Canada and globally. Discussions today and the adoption of the 2026 Political Declaration are an opportunity for us to build on recent progress and renew our shared commitment to equity, solidarity, and collective action. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Denmark.

Dear Excellencies, Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for shining a spotlight on such an important aspect of pandemic preparedness, the sharing of best practices and lessons learned. As CEO of a national public health institute, I would like to highlight one key factor in building resilience, strong research ecosystems supported by close international collaboration. By investing in partnerships and infrastructure during times of stability, we can ensure that research capacity can pivot rapidly when new health threats emerge. Recognizing that no institution, country, or region can do this alone, multilateral and multi-sectoral cooperation is essential. We have to align our efforts, avoid duplication, and share knowledge across borders. We should continue to build on what is already in place so resources can be mobilized quickly when new health threats emerge. In my field, this also means bringing together different actors who each hold an essential part of the solution, public health institutes, clinical networks, ministries, the private sector, and research institutions. And by doing so, we can strengthen what already works, address remaining gaps, and build a more coordinated and resilient response. Pandemic preparedness is a shared responsibility. And effective preparedness starts with working together before the next crisis begins. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Kyrgyzstan.

Distinguished co-chairs, distinguished participants, on behalf of the Kyrgyz Republic, I am pleased to welcome the participants of discussion panel one. The lessons of recent years have taught us one fundamental lesson: the individual and isolated preparedness of individual countries is powerless in the face of global infectious disease risk. I would like to highlight three key lessons taken by the Kyrgyz Republic as a result of our experience in responding to emergencies. the need for strong multi-sectoral coordination based on One Health approach. In Kyrgyzstan, we have established a unified mechanism for inter-agency cooperation among public health service, veterinary authorities, and environmental agencies. This enables us to continuously monitor zoonotic infections and cross-border threats at the earliest stages. Second lesson, digitalization and data transparency. The transition to electronic medical records and the integration of laboratory information system with the national health platform help reduce human error, accelerate the transmission of emergency notifications, and enable the immediate exchange of data both within the country and internationally. Third lesson, public trust and a whole of government and whole of society approach. The most advanced medical countermeasures are ineffective without a high level of public trust. In Kyrgyzstan, we pay particular attention to digital literacy, risk communication with the involvement of local communities, and strengthening the role of primary healthcare workers as key providers of reliable and accurate information. In conclusion, the Kyrgyz Republic calls on the international community to enshrine in the political declaration clear mechanisms for sharing best practices, technologies, and epidemiological surveillance data. Only through coordinated and transparent action can the world together effectively address any future threats. I thank you.

Thank you. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Kenya.

Thank you, Chair, Excellencies, distinguished guests. Kenya comes to this with a single conviction that an early warning anywhere must produce decisive action everywhere. Kenya therefore urges this session to act on three commitments. First, strengthen the coordination mandate of the World Health Organization and invest in Africa CDC and our regional institutions so that the continent can detect and contain its own emergencies. In East Africa, we are already building shared risk assessments, interoperable surveillance, and joint simulation exercises, because an outbreak in one country is a threat to all of us. Secondly, let us finish what we have begun. We welcome the adoption of WHO Pandemic Agreement, and we urge swift conclusion of its annex on pathogen access and benefit sharing. Africa shares its pathogens without hesitation. Africa must share in the benefits without exception. Sovereignty and cooperation are not rivals. The country that reports promptly must be met with support, not punishment and measures affecting travel and trade. Thirdly, we confront the condition with new threat that emerged. While One Health approach must join human, animal, and environmental health in one common surveillance and common prevention. and must treat communities, women and young people as partners in preparedness and not protected as to it. Excellencies, the next pandemic will not wait for our negotiations to conclude, the institutions we build in the decades for the protection of our children will inherit in the next. Let us not be remembered as the generation that described the lessons perfectly and learned it not at all. Kenya stands ready to contribute its experience and ready to learn from others. Let us give equity and solidarity their true meaning, which is dependable action. I thank you.

I thank the representative of Kenya, and I now give the floor to the civil society organization, Unite Parliamentarians Network for Global Health.

Thank you, Chair. I speak on behalf of the Unite Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, an organization representing nearly 600 members of parliaments, congresses, and senates from more than 120 countries. promoting an evidence-based science informed policy making and committed to pandemic prevention preparedness and response. Many countries still lack fully funded multi-sectoral preparedness plans. Sustained investment is essential and the bottom line is clear. We know today that We need an estimated 31 million US dollars, a billion US dollars annually to respond and to strengthen our global health architecture, while pandemics would represent potentially more than 700 billion each year if we fail to prevent and respond adequately. Mechanisms such as the pandemic fund are fundamental, along with private-public partnerships to fill the gaps. We know that equity is critical. And therefore, there are organizations actively involved that include Gavi, CEPI, MPP, and others that need our continued support. UNITE calls, therefore, the United Nations and its partner members to recognize PPR as a matter of national security, to keep equity at the center of the pandemic agreement, to mobilize predictable and necessary funding, to establish parliamentary accountability mechanisms, and to involve parliamentarians in global fora, including the United Nations General Assemblies and World Health Assembly. While global health threats are inevitable, pandemics are not. It's truly up to us. It's time to unite. Thank you.

I thank the representative of UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, and I now give the floor to the representative of Angola.

Thank you, Chair. For the Republic of Angola, multilateralism means transforming shared threats into collective action. Health emergencies do not respect borders, and our response to Mpox has reinforced the importance of regional and international cooperation. In 2026, Angola experienced increased Mpox transmission, particularly in Cabinda and Mushiku, last provinces bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This highlights a fundamental reality, cross-border health threats require cross-border solutions. Angola's national mpox response plans follows a One Health approach aligned with WHO and Africa CDC guidance, strengthening coordination, surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, rapid response, and community engagement. From our experience, we highlight three lessons for collective action. First, coordination must be continuous with clear responsibilities and effective communication across borders and all levels. of the health system. Second, information must be shared rapidly and translated into action. Cross-border alerts, timely data exchange, and coordinated preparedness are essential. Third, communities must remain at the center of the response. Trust, effective communication, and community engagement are fundamental to preparedness and response. Chair, multilateralism is demonstrated through action, sharing information early, coordinating decisions, and strengthening each other's capacities so that no country faces a health emergency alone. Angola remains committed to this collective responsibility and to strong original and global health security. We thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Angola.

I give the floor to Switzerland.

Thank you, co-chairs, ladies and gentlemen. Switzerland welcomes the organization of this multi-stakeholder panel and multilateral action for PPPR. One of the key lessons from COVID-19 is that preparedness cannot be built during a crisis. This must happen before the next emergency. through strengthening resilient healthcare systems, effective surveillance, secure supply chains, and international cooperation. We must seize this opportunity to translate the lessons of the pandemic into lasting actions that enhance global health security. Now, This, of course, is based on trust and cooperation beyond borders. Switzerland, therefore, remains committed to a robust multilateral system and a strong global health architecture with WHO at its center. First, furthermore, inclusive partnerships with academia, civil society, communities, and the private sector are essential for strengthening preparedness, resilience, and coordinated action. We need not only whole of government, but also whole of society approaches. To address and respond to the drivers of emerging infectious diseases, Switzerland is prioritizing an integrated One Health approach. In closing, let us not lose sight of the overarching goal, ensuring that the world is better prepared for future health emergencies. Pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response is a collective responsibility. Thank you.

Thanks, Switzerland.

Distinguished representative of Germany.

Co-chairs, Excellencies, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, all protocols observed. Recent outbreaks, like the Ebola outbreak or the Hantavirus outbreak, have reminded us that, indeed, no country can prevent, prepare, and respond to pandemics alone. And Germany seconds to what has been said by many esteemed colleagues. We do need strong multilateral cooperation and coordination. especially in times when multilateralism itself is under a lot of pressure. Germany is strongly committed to all efforts regarding PPPR. Effective prevention starts with surveillance and early detection. And this is why the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin is of utmost importance to us. It strengthens early warning and coordinated surveillance through better access to relevant data worldwide. And Germany is proud to support this effective instrument politically and financially. Also, together with Team Europe, Germany works with the African Union and its member states to advance local and regional vaccine and pharmaceutical production. We further contribute substantially to several key multilateral initiatives, including CEPI, Gavi, the Global Fund, and the Pandemic Fund. Also, a strong and effective and well-resourced WHO is key for coordinated and effective PPPR measures. Finally, strong multilateral frameworks are indispensable. That is why reaching an agreement in the PUPS negotiations is critical to enable the conclusion of the pandemic agreement. Germany stands ready to continue our collective efforts at the World Health Summit in October in Berlin.

Thank you.

I now get the floor to the distinguished representative of Spain.

Thank you, Chair. COVID-19 and recent health emergencies have given us clear lessons. Firstly, prevention, preparation and response to health emergencies are a global public good which at a crucial moment in which we're reimagining the global health ecosystem must be considered as a central function of any updated architecture. Recognition of state sanitary sovereignty, which is essential, does not exclude global action, which is still necessary to confront challenges like a pandemic emergency, which exceeds state capacities. It's therefore necessary, on the one hand, that prevention, preparation, and response to pandemics is a central component of the global health ecosystem and on the other hand that the international legal framework be strengthened. It is essential to supplement the legal framework with finalization of the negotiation of the PABs agreement, which I will mention again in a little bit. Preparation and preparation response must also be based on fundamental principles like equity or equality, because inequality multiplies pandemic risk. Our development must also be measured by our capacity to ensure equal access to vaccines, diagnoses, treatments, and other health products within countries and among them. Spain is therefore encouraging, with Brazil, Norway, and South Africa, an international panel on inequality. We want inequality in health and preparation for pandemic response to be a part of the work of that panel. Equity cannot be an addition to preparation for pandemics. It has to be one of the conditions for success. Preparing ourselves means that we need a cross-cutting approach. Health is also built on political, social, economic, and environmental educational policies, and we therefore uphold that the health in all policies be applied because human rights and equity must be cross-cutting principles in real participation of communities, scientists, etc., and civil society.

Thank you very much.

To the distinguished representative of the International Criminal Police Organization, Interpol.

Thank you, Chairs. Six years ago, our world was profoundly changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the clearest lessons is that early information sharing, strong coordination, and trust across borders are essential to an effective response. Law enforcement has an important role to play in this collective effort. First, Interpol contributes to early warning and the identification of biological risks. As the world's largest international police organisation, Interpol manages the only global list of weaponisable biological agents and toxins, which could be misused to cause dangerous biological incidents. Interpol also hosts BioTracker, an early warning system used to share alerts about unusual disease events and emerging biological threats. Second, Interpol supports information sharing and operational response through conducting threat assessments and analysis, delivering training sessions to increase law enforcement capabilities, and providing prevention methodologies for use by member countries. Third, INTERPOL brings together law enforcement, health professionals and other stakeholders to strengthen biosecurity, share best practices and build trusted networks before a crisis occurs. To raise awareness about African swine fever, INTERPOL and the World Organisation for Animal Health helped ensure coordinated messaging from law enforcement and veterinary services. These capabilities demonstrate the value of connecting information across borders. Distinguished colleagues, as Member States strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, INTERPOL encourages the international community to recognize the importance of law enforcement. I thank you.

Thank you very much.

I now give the floor to the Distinguished Representative of Ghana.

Thank you, Chair. COVID-19 taught us a hard lesson. A virus can cross borders in hours, whilst other response can take weeks to come together. Ghana believes that strong national systems and genuine international solidarity must advance together. Preparedness starts long before an outbreak. We are strengthening surveillance, laboratories, emergency operations, and the health workforce, guided by our joint internal evaluations and national health security plan. One health must also become practical. Human, animal, and environmental health teams need to plan and work together before the next alert. But no country can prepare alone. When a nation reports a threat early, the world must respond with support, not punishment. Trust depends on sharing information quickly and sharing the benefit of science fairly. We also need our institutions to work together. Regional bodies should connect capacity across borders. Global partners should align behind country-led plans so scarce health workers spend time protecting people rather than filling out duplicate reports. This is the spirit of the Accra Reset. Excellencies, the measure of multilateral action is simple. Can we detect danger earlier, respond together faster, and keep essential services running for the people who need them most? The next emergency will test the choices we make today. Let us build trust now, connect our systems, and make solidarity real when it matters. Thank you.

I now give -- thank you very much. And I'll give the floor to the distinguished representative of the high-level independent panel on pandemic preparedness and response.

Thank you, Chair. First, let me say that we are truly encouraged by the declaration, but now we need to translate the declaration to action. I would like to highlight three priorities. First, financing. As co-chair of the High-Level Panel on Financing, I must underscore the need for financing and need that financing is fit for purpose. We need to advance at-risk financing, surge financing, global access to medical countermeasures, and support the pandemic fund, all while countries continue to mobilize domestic resources. Second, monitoring. As a member of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, I echo our co-chair, John Paul Murphy's statement that the world needs a modern global mechanism for monitoring pandemic risk and preparedness. One that is independent, able to bring together many existing sources of information that can help countries track progress, identify gaps, strengthen preparedness and prevention. In this case, along with this, the pandemic risk assessment can help us better understand how risk itself is evolving and where prevention, preparedness investments can have the greatest impact. Third, as co-chair of the 100 Days Mission IPPS science expert group, I want to emphasize that meeting 100 Days Mission requires a much more robust therapeutic pipeline that provides antivirals and monoclonal antibodies to those in need. So there's a need to bring together people to create such a pipeline. I want to acknowledge HIRA in providing support for IPPS and partners. in planning for a therapeutic development coalition, which is to be launched very nearly in the future. Excellencies, the task now is to make sure these commitments can be delivered before the next pandemic emerges. Thank you.

I thank the representative of the High-Level Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, it was not possible to hear from all those wishing to intervene. Participants who were not able to take the floor are encouraged to submit electronic copies of their statements to e-statements@un.org to be posted on the e-statements section of the United Nations Journal. Before we conclude, I now give the floor to our distinguished panelists to make a very brief final comment. Given time constraints, I kindly invite you to keep your remarks to no more than one minute. I now give the floor to Ms. Winnie Bayaniema, Executive Director, Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. UNICEF.

Thank you, Chair, and I appreciate very much the contributions from the distinguished delegates. I go back to that point. Let us redefine what preparedness means. It means community-led services that can reach the excluded. It means social protection systems ready to surge when crisis hit. It means data and rights systems that track inequality, not just pathogens. It means financing that protects countries from being blocked by debt from serving their people in crisis. And it means automatically waiving global patent rules on pandemic technologies so that countries can collaborate to reach everyone as fast as possible. That is a whole of society, whole of government, inequality informed approach that we need. Thank you, Chair.

I thank the Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, and I now give the floor to Mr. Kyou Dang You, Director General of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

As I said, I appreciate all the co-chairs in each of this important declaration. FAO fully supported with our mandate to implement, to support our members, 196 members, Second, I think also we are talking about so much preparedness, prevention. I'm a biologist. All the plants and human beings, animals, we need an immune system, resistance. How come from? Genetically, environmentally, and interaction. So if we can prepare ourself in three aspects, be stronger, as a body, as a genotype, and be clear, sustainable as the environment. And then you would -- you will have the good interaction. So four betters, from better production, better nutrition, better environment, and better life or quality. God bless you all. Have good health, good life. Thank you.

I thank the Director General of the Food and -- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. And I now give the floor to Dr. Sanir Nishta, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

I was listening carefully as the countries and the partners were speaking, and it's great to see countries and civil society organizations united in their fight against pandemics. And we really hope that the UN, the United Nations General Assembly is going to adopt the political declaration of this high-level meeting. Very quickly on three points, I think it's crucial that we, you know, as part of the discourse in the global health architecture reform, that there are incentives established to incentivize collaboration within the multilateral architecture, because currently those incentives are missing. Secondly, as far as financing is concerned, we must separate the financing of public goods from the financing of development. And given that this is what we're talking about as a public good, the financing for this should be guaranteed. Also on financing, it's important that we structure the instrument for such financing. And I would like to reemphasize once again that Gavi's first response fund is something that has delivered. It is delivered at scale and that it can be very easily structured for pandemic level surge financing. And finally, there's a whole ecosystem that comes into play during pandemics at a country level. and it's very important that we conduct simulation exercises. And I would absolutely echo the words of my sister, Winnie, who talked about social protection twice. As the former Minister of Social Protection from my country, I know firsthand the devastation that is caused when pandemics strike with respect to the livelihoods of individuals. And I think this should be squarely embedded within any planning for pandemics. So thank you, Winnie, for raising this.

I thank the Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. And I now give the floor to Ms. Joy Phumaphi, co-chair of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Perhaps the most consistent theme that we have heard in today's discussion has been the crucial importance of trust. This reality has underpinned the GPMP's call for a strong, independent monitoring guided by a comprehensive, integrated risk of the three mechanism. 2023 2026 reporting presents a consistent message. Technical solutions exist. The global vulnerability and deficiencies in trust are fueled by structural inequity, fragmented governance and chronic underinvestment. Delivering on pandemic prevention requires shifting from reactive emergency responses to continuous upstream risk management and centered on one health principles, equitable distribution of resources, and sustained political accountability. It is for this reason that a high-level political declaration is critical and that the pandemic agreement must be completed with a pathogen access and benefits sharing annex to ensure, as Minister Pala has said, truly equitable access to life-saving diagnostics, vaccines, medicines, and essential commitment for the next pandemic. I thank you, Madam Chair.

I thank the co-chair of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, and I now give the floor to Dr. Denis Mukwege, founder of Panzi Foundation and Hospital and member of the Elders.

As organizer of the high-level meeting of the Friends of the UN on prevention, preparation and response to the pandemic. The Organization of Elders calls on all member states to approve the political declaration that will be prepared in the next few days. That said, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we are fighting to contain the 17th outbreak of Ebola epidemic. And if nothing is done, then the 18th outbreak is almost unavoidable. So we're in a situation where it's a recurring problem, and we have to ask ourselves, what can we do not to continue to kind of doing the same thing over and over that leads to the same consequence? So I think it's very important today to consider that we We shouldn't look at the situation as a succession of emergencies to be managed, but rather we need to start building a system of health care that is sustainable. Infrastructures, involvement of local populations, financial support. But what's most important is to put an end to this crisis that has lasted for too long, a war that has lasted 30 years and that prevents any kind of the development and building of a sound healthcare system and this prevents the entire international community from acting. So the best remedy that we can offer to the eastern part of the Congo is not to send another team, emergency team, but rather to bring it peace. Thank you.

Thank you, doctor. And lastly, I want to take this opportunity to on behalf of my colleague to thank our experts and all the delegations for having participated actively in this very important subject. As we mentioned previously, a summary of our discussion will be presented during the closing segment of the high-level meeting, 30 p.m. this afternoon in conference room 1. I'd also like to inform participants that multi-stakeholder panel 2 on topic equitable access through sustainability and predictability, capacities and financing for strength and pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response will take place in this room at 3:00 p.m. the multi we've come to the end of the first multi stakeholder panel one the meeting is adjourned thank you