By Joyce Ekeh
The World Health Organisation, (WHO) has warned against complacency in global pandemic preparedness, saying recent outbreaks of Ebola, mpox, cholera and hantavirus show that the threat of major health emergencies remains.
The warning will take centre stage as the WHO and its partners engage world leaders at the 81st United Nations General Assembly and High-Level Week in New York, where the agency will push for stronger action on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
The UNGA81 is being held under the theme, “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”
A major focus of the WHO’s engagement will be the Second United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, scheduled for September 25.
The meeting is expected to build on the political momentum generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and recent global health reforms, including the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, implementation of the International Health Regulations and negotiations towards adoption of the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing, PABS, Annex.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the lessons of COVID-19 must not be forgotten, stressing that preparations for the next pandemic must begin before a crisis emerges.
“Preparedness cannot begin when a crisis starts,” Tedros said at a WHO strategic roundtable in May, noting that the Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations were among the products of lessons learnt from COVID-19.
According to WHO, the PABS Annex is a critical component of the Pandemic Agreement, designed to facilitate safe and transparent access to pathogen materials and sequence information while supporting equitable sharing of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other benefits arising from such access.
The agency is also expected to use the UNGA81 platform to demand sustainable financing for health, stronger health systems and renewed commitment to universal health coverage and primary health care.
Other priorities include the links between climate and health, environmental health threats, emerging technologies and artificial intelligence.
WHO said the continued emergence of infectious disease outbreaks, five years after COVID-19, demonstrated that global health security could not depend solely on emergency responses after outbreaks had already spread.
It said sustained investment in surveillance, epidemic intelligence, health workforces, medical countermeasures and resilient health systems was required to identify and contain threats early.
At a WHO side event on high-threat pathogens scheduled for September 25, the agency’s African Regional Office is expected to focus on cross-border collaboration and the use of artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to anticipate health threats, forecast their impact and guide preparedness investments before outbreaks escalate into regional emergencies.
The WHO said progress had been made since COVID-19, including stronger surveillance and epidemic intelligence, improved access to medical countermeasures, enhanced emergency workforces, new financing mechanisms and the development of the Pandemic Agreement.
However, Tedros warned that the progress should not create a false sense of security.
“We can never be prepared enough. There’s always more we can do,” he said while addressing the World Health Assembly in May.
With the UNGA81 bringing together world leaders and health stakeholders, WHO is seeking renewed political commitment to ensuring that lessons from COVID-19 translate into lasting investments and stronger national and international preparedness systems.
The agency’s message is that pandemic preparedness must become a continuous global priority rather than an emergency response activated only when a new disease begins to spread.
