Prime Minister Kishida,
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Ohayo gozaimasu.
I'm really sorry I can't be with you because of our governing bodies meetings that are now underway.
Earlier this month I declared an end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency.
This was an important milestone.
You know what your countries and all countries have been through.
We thank the G7 for your political and financial leadership through this once-in-a-century crisis.
But even now, we remain unprepared for another pandemic. We see signs that the cycle of panic and neglect is repeating.
Now is the time for learning the painful lessons COVID-19 has taught us, and preparing for the pandemics for the future.
Let me suggest three ways.
First, if we are to truly learn those lessons and not repeat the same mistakes again, we need a strong pandemic accord or agreement that creates a framework for a shared response to shared threats for generations to come. We seek your support for a strong accord.
We thank the G7 for establishing the Pandemic Fund and for your contributions to it, and I thank the United States for the contribution announced yesterday. We seek your continued commitment.
I appreciate the recent G7 decision to work with the G20 to ensure surge financing capacity for future pandemic response, as Your Excellency Prime Minister Kishida mentioned.
Second, we seek your support for universal health coverage around the world. No one should miss out on the care they need because of who they are, where they live or what they earn.
Prime Minister Kishida, thank you for Japan's leadership on universal health coverage.
The backbone of strong health systems is a well-trained and resourced health workforce.
But the world faces a shortage of 10 million health workers in the next decade, with the biggest gaps in Africa.
We seek your commitment to fill these gaps, by supporting the education and training of health workers in low- and middle-income countries.
And because 70% of the global health workforce is female, jobs for health workers are jobs for women.
Third, we seek your continued commitment to keep health central to the G7 agenda.
You are faced with so many other priorities demanding your attention.
Yet the pandemic has shown that health is not a cost, but an investment in social, economic and political stability.
Your leadership is more important than ever for making the world healthier, safer and fairer.
I thank you.
Origato gozaimasu.