WHO Director-General's remarks at the media briefing on the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response – 25 September 2026

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us.

The COVID-19 pandemic was the most severe global health crisis in a century.

It killed at least 20 million people, and wiped more than US$ 10 trillion from the global economy.

It exposed and exacerbated faultlines in global health security.

It taught the world many painful lessons.

It's essential that the world learns those lessons, because the next pandemic is not a matter of if, but when.

The ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a reminder that an outbreak can start anywhere, anytime and pose a threat not only to local communities, but also to neighbouring countries and the world at large.

The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius was another recent demonstration of the need for an international response to an international threat.

Thanks to the cooperation of many countries and partners - especially Spain - that outbreak was controlled and stopped.

During and since the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO established 12 key initiatives to strengthen global health security, in six areas:

To strengthen national capacities, the Pandemic Fund with the World Bank and the Universal Health and Preparedness Review;

To strengthen surveillance and early warning, the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin;

To improve equitable access to vaccines and other tools, the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and COVAX; the interim Medical Countermeasures Network; the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme in South Africa, and the Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Initiative in the Republic of Korea;

To encourage international sharing of pathogen samples, the WHO BioHub in Switzerland;

To strengthen international response capacity, the Global Health Emergency Corps;

And to strengthen the international legal framework that governs pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, in 2024, our Member States adopted a package of amendments to the International Health Regulations;

And of course last year, they adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement - a landmark instrument of international law.

The final piece of the puzzle is the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system, which countries are continuing to negotiate.

Although differences remain, I am confident that countries will find common ground, just as they did with the Agreement itself.

It's essential they do, so the Agreement can begin the process of ratification and enter into force.

We continue to see significant mis- and disinformation about the WHO Pandemic Agreement, with false claims it is a "power grab" that cedes sovereignty to WHO.

That is completely untrue. The Pandemic Agreement was written, negotiated and adopted by sovereign countries, acting in their own national interests.

That's because they realize that a shared threat demands a shared response. An every-country-for-itself approach will not work.

That same conviction is the basis of the political declaration that countries are discussing at the high-level meeting today.

The declaration includes important commitments to concrete, measurable and urgent action to address gaps.

WHO thanks Member States for their commitment, and especially the co-chairs from Armenia and Rwanda for their leadership of the negotiations.

We look forward to its adoption, and to supporting all countries to fulfil the commitments they have made.

Thank you, and we look forward to your questions.