World leaders renew their commitment to prevent the next pandemic

On 25 September 2026, the UN General Assembly held its second High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response in New York and adopted a new political declaration calling for equity, solidarity, multilateral cooperation and sustained investment in global health security.

The declaration reaffirms support for the WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted in May 2025, and for the amendments to the International Health Regulations, and stresses the need to finish negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex, a key piece for ensuring that vaccines and treatments reach all countries fairly.

The lessons of COVID-19 were present throughout the meeting: the pandemic has been linked to more than 20 million excess deaths between 2020 and 2023 and to economic losses of over US$10 trillion. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and the President of the General Assembly insisted that preparedness must remain a political priority even when there is no emergency.

Health is a universal human right. Preparing for the next pandemic means, above all, closing the gaps that left the poorest countries at the back of the line last time.

Source: World Health Organization – World leaders renew commitment