24 September 2026
A Statement from the Friends
of the PPPR HLM
As Member States gather this
Friday, September 25, for the second UN High-Level Meeting
on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR),
Friends of the PPPR HLM* urge them to set the stage to adopt
the Political Declaration.
Member States have spent
months negotiating the declaration. As the main focus and
outcome of the meeting, it lays a foundation for collective
commitments and action in the years ahead. Adopting it sends
a strong signal of political commitment that recognises
tackling pandemic threats requires collective action in the
common interest.
In a decade in which COVID-19 caused
at least 22 million excess deaths, and in a year in which
the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record has killed some
3,600 people and infected 7,600, such commitment is both a
public health and a moral imperative.
The Friends of
the PPPR HLM again call on Member States to uphold the
promise of “never again.” Use the opportunity of the
High-Level Meeting to express full support to the Political
Declaration and make measurable commitments to ensure that
COVID-19 is the last devastating pandemic.
“This
Political Declaration should be considered the floor, and
not the ceiling of what needs to be done to make the world
safer from pandemic threats, not the least of which is the
conclusion, ratification and implementation of the WHO
Pandemic Agreement.” said Helen Clark, Co-Chair of The
Independent Panel, Member of The Elders, and Co-convenor of
Friends of the PPPR HLM.
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“So this Friday, we say:
Member States – demonstrate your full-throated support to
make the world safer. Given inevitable pandemic threats, how
could you choose any other
path?”
Notes:
Traditionally, a Political
Declaration negotiated for a High-Level Meeting is tabled in
the opening session by the President of the General
Assembly. UN Member States then agree to endorse the
pre-negotiated Declaration for formal adoption at a regular
meeting of the Assembly. Instead, this meeting will ‘consider’
the outcome document only in the closing session of the
meeting.
* About the Friends of the PPPR HLM:
Friends of the PPPR HLM is an informal,
time-limited platform for organisations working to support
progress in pandemic PPR and specifically working to secure
a strong political declaration from the 2026 HLM that
contains measurable commitments. It is co-convened by The
Elders, FOUR PAWS, The Independent Panel for Pandemic
Preparedness and Response, and Resilience Action Network
International
(rani).
