Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Good afternoon, thank you all for joining us today, and for your continued engagement and leadership.
As we all know, the world is changing at a scale and pace unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes.
We are witnessing a period of tremendous upheaval, with profound implications for multilateralism, humanitarianism, development and global health.
We cannot predict where it is headed, or what the world will look like in one year’s time, let alone 10 years’ time.
That’s exactly why we need the pandemic agreement – an agreement for an unpredictable world.
The COVID-19 pandemic now seems like a distant memory, overtaken by conflict and geopolitical and economic disruption.
But the next pandemic will not wait until things calm down.
It could happen in 20 years or more, or it could happen tomorrow. We must be ready.
That’s why the world needs your engagement and leadership to bring the WHO Pandemic Agreement across the finish line.
Because there are two things we know for sure: first, there will always be new global threats. And two, we are stronger together.
Global health security cannot be achieved by countries acting individually – it requires coordinated efforts and a common approach to shared threats.
If one country is left behind, no matter how large or small, it increases the risk for us all.
Individual and bilateral arrangements will only get you so far when a pandemic occurs.
Our collective strength lies in our expertise, experience, capacities, and coordinated response. The sum is greater than the parts.
The negotiators and the Bureau have worked hard over more than three years to draft an agreement that builds on the painful lessons we’ve learned as a global community, while balancing the different needs and priorities of Member States.
The question is - are we ready as a global community to reap the benefits of our hard work, or will we continue to take our chances?
Do we want to face the next pandemic in a coordinated manner, or be caught unprepared, again?
I believe we are too close to throw it all away. I believe you are ready to move towards consensus.
And I believe you are ready to make history with this generational agreement, so that future generations do not have to suffer as ours did.
I thank you.