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.
* *** *
"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." — António Guterres
The new Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations (Vienna), Matilda Aku Alomatu Osei-Agyeman, presented her credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations (Vienna), Andrew Williams, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations (Vienna), Andranik Hovhannisyan, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
