12 October 2026
New York: Today an overwhelming
majority of Member States at the United Nations General
Assembly adopted a Political Declaration as the outcome of
the 25 September High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention,
Preparedness and Response (PPPR).
The Friends of the
High-Level Meeting on PPPR applaud the adoption as an
important marker of multilateral commitment to make the
world safer from pandemic threats. Leaders must now act to
turn words and commitments into action.
“Pandemic
risks are not waiting,” the Friends said. “A rapidly
growing Ebola outbreak, two mpox emergencies since 2022 and
an Andes hantavirus outbreak have all required multinational
responses. H5N1 is still infecting farm animals and
wildlife, and climate change and biodiversity loss are
driving new threats. Which political leaders will now step
forward to turn that urgency into policy change and
investment in countries and regions?”
In a vote
today in the General Assembly, 153 countries adopted the
declaration and just three voted against, with two
abstentions.
The declaration recognises that the world
is still insufficiently prepared for the next pandemic
threat and references core areas that must be addressed. It
underlines the importance of the International Health
Regulations and the Pandemic Agreement, and the need to
conclude the Agreement’s Pathogen Access and
Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex.
It recognises the value
of a One Health approach and prevention at source by
tackling the drivers of outbreaks. It calls for prioritising
equity and promoting access to vaccines, tests and
treatments, and for such tools to be available within the
first 100 days of a pandemic threat. It acknowledges an
estimated US$15 billion annual gap in preparedness
financing, the work of the Pandemic Fund, and the limits of
a fragmented and under-funded financing system.
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But
the political declaration contains few concrete, measurable
or time-bound commitments. The Friends now challenge all
Member States to set ambitious, time-bound targets to ensure
that we are truly able to prevent, prepare for, and respond
to health emergencies and pandemic threats.
“It’s
almost seven years since COVID-19 emerged and caused
worldwide devastation to lives and economies. Action to
ensure that this does not happen again is still too slow and
not concrete or ambitious enough,” said the Right
Honourable Helen Clark, Co-Chair of The Independent Panel,
and a member of the Elders, both co-convenors of the
Friends.
“Countries can and must do better, and work
together with the urgency pandemic threats demand. This
means finding a way through the impasse to agree the PABS
Annex by May. In the meantime, it is vital to implement
provisions of the Pandemic Agreement. Delays will only
increase our collective risks.”
The Friends welcome
the decision to review collective progress against the
declaration in around two years’ time during the 83rd
session of the General Assembly. The co-convenors and
members of the Friends will hold countries accountable for
real progress against the gaps the declaration lays out, and
for bringing the commitments on paper to
life.
Progress must include:
- The Pandemic
Agreement entering into force - All countries having
multisectoral plans for PPPR - Successful mechanisms
to ensure sustained, sufficient and reliable preparedness
and surge financing
Measurable progress on
investments in research, development and manufacturing of
pandemic and outbreak tools in every region
The
Friends thank the co-facilitators – Armenia and Rwanda –
the President of the General Assembly, the World Health
Organization, and all Member States who voted for the
declaration.
About the Friends of the PPPR High-Level
Meeting
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).
