WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the Strategic Roundtable: from COVID-19 lessons to action: the evolution of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme – 19 May 2026

Excellencies, Honourable Ministers, dear colleagues and friends,

Good afternoon and welcome.

Welcome to our distinguished panellists and all Member States joining us today.

As I described in my Address to Member States this morning, WHO is currently responding to two outbreaks that have captured headlines around the world:

On Sunday, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the outbreak of Ebola in the DRC and Uganda;

At the same time, we are continuing to respond to the outbreak of hantavirus among passengers and crew on the cruise ship, the MV Hondius.

In particular, the current Ebola outbreak is a reminder of the West African Ebola epidemic from 2013 to 2016 that shocked the world, and which led to the creation of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme 10 years ago.

In the past decade, the Health Emergencies Programme has established itself as an essential part of WHO's work.

It has supported the response to numerous outbreaks, conflicts and humanitarian disasters;

And it has supported countries to build and reinforce their defences against emergencies of all kinds;

And to strengthen international cooperation.

The COVID-19 pandemic was, in many ways, the ultimate stress test for the Programme.

COVID-19 was not simply a public health crisis. It was one of the defining experiences of our lives.

Every country, every community, and every family experienced the pandemic differently.

Some lost loved ones. Some lost colleagues. Many lost years of economic and social progress. And all of us, in one way or another, were tested.

The pandemic tested our systems, our partnerships, our science, our operational capacities, and our ability to act under enormous uncertainty and political pressure.

Under Dr Mike Ryan's leadership, WHE helped steer WHO and the world through an extraordinary storm.

The Programme was under unprecedented pressure, while coordinating one of the most complex global emergency responses in modern history.

What is important is that COVID-19 did not only expose vulnerabilities. It also accelerated innovation, reform and cooperation.

In response to the lessons the pandemic taught us, WHO and Member States took many measures to strengthen global health security, which I described in my opening remarks to the Assembly yesterday:

Measures to strengthen surveillance and epidemic intelligence; to advance more equitable access to medical countermeasures; to strengthen national preparedness and emergency workforce capacities; to establish new financing mechanisms; and, of course, to deliver the historic Pandemic Agreement adopted last year.

The Pandemic Agreement and the Amendments to the International Health Regulations were born directly from lessons learned during COVID-19.

They reflect a collective recognition that preparedness cannot begin when a crisis starts.

The PABS Annex is the final piece of the puzzle.

Of course, we all hoped we would be celebrating its adoption this week.

That celebration is not cancelled, it is merely postponed.

The commitment of Member States to continuing negotiations is a clear signal that far from giving up, they are forging ahead.

I have every confidence that they will succeed - that you will succeed, and we will succeed.

Today, under the leadership of Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Programme continues to prevent and prepare for emergencies of all kinds, and to respond decisively when they arrive.

At any one time, we are responding to multiple overlapping and intersecting crises, in the face of geopolitical fragmentation, growing challenges to multilateralism, financial pressures and misinformation.

I am very grateful to all our panelists today for joining us, to reflect not only on what we learned from COVID-19, but on how we translate those lessons into stronger protection for future generations.

Because ultimately, the question before us is simple: will the world be better prepared for the next crisis than it was for the last one?

We need to ensure that the answer is yes. This is our collective responsibility.

Thank you very much.