UNIS/SGSM/1467
20 December 2024
COVID-19 was a wake-up call to the world. Millions of lives lost, economies shattered, health systems pushed to the brink and daily life upended for all of humanity.
The crisis may have passed, but a harsh lesson remains: the world is woefully unprepared for the next pandemic. Outbreaks of mpox, cholera, polio and Marburg are startling reminders that infectious diseases remain a real and present danger to every country.
On this International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, I call on countries to heed the lessons of past health emergencies to help prepare for the next.
This means building resilient public and primary health care systems and making good on the promise of Universal Health Coverage. It means making bold investments in pandemic monitoring, detection and response. And it means ensuring equitable access to life-saving tools like vaccines, treatments and diagnostics.
Most of all, it means global solidarity. I call on countries to deliver on the historic Pandemic Agreement to ensure the world works better, together, to prevent and contain future pandemics.
Today, and every day, let’s commit to working together for a safer and healthier world for everyone, everywhere.
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"In a world plagued by conflict and division, World Press Freedom Day highlights a fundamental truth: Freedom for people depends on freedom of the press." — António Guterres
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and Singapore’s national space office, the Office for Space Technology & Industry of Singapore (OSTIn), have agreed to collaborate under the "Space Law for New Space Actors" project.
Brazil signed the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships (the "Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships") at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 17 April 2025.
"Together, let's get to work and make 2025 the year we restore good health to Mother Earth." — António Guterres
