Dear colleagues and friends,
Since the last time you met, I declared an end to two public health emergencies of international concern: COVID-19 and mpox.
Of course, while neither constitutes a global health emergency, both continue to pose a global health threat.
And of course, COVID-19 and mpox are far from the only emergencies to which WHO is responding around the world
Each year, WHO responds to more frequent, more complex, and longer-lasting health emergencies.
The tragic earthquake in Morocco and the flooding in Libya are just the latest examples – and I send my deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones in both countries, and my commitment that WHO will support the government and people of both countries in any way we can.
The number of people affected by these emergencies, and who need our support, continues to increase.
At the end of 2022, the United Nations estimated that approximately 339 million people – almost 5% of the world’s population – would require humanitarian assistance in 2023.
This is a 25% increase in the scale of humanitarian health needs compared with 2022, and more than double the number in 2018
But even this tragically high figure now looks likely to be an underestimate.
To respond to the threats of today and tomorrow, we need a stronger architecture for health emergency preparedness and response.
Several parts of that architecture are being built.
As you know, Member States are now negotiating a legally binding accord on pandemic preparedness and response, as well as amendments to the International Health Regulations.
We are also piloting the Universal Health and Preparedness Review. So far, five countries have completed the first phase – Central African Republic, Iraq, Portugal, Sierra Leone and Thailand – and the first global review is planned for December.
The Pandemic Fund has been established, with 1.7 billion US dollars in pledges from more than 24 donors so far, and has made 338 million dollars of awards, benefiting 37 countries, in its first round.
Recognising the links between global health and the global economy, the G20 established the Joint Finance-Health Task Force, to better understand economic and social vulnerabilities and risks to a pandemic, and how to reduce them.
Building on the lessons learned from the successes and shortcomings of the ACT Accelerator, WHO has also developed a concept note for an interim mechanism to coordinate timely and equitable access to medical countermeasures for epidemic and pandemic threats.
In addition, we have established the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, the WHO BioHub system, and the Global Health Emergency Corps.
This Committee provides an important forum, led by Member States, for evaluating the emergencies of today, and for assessing how to prevent, prepare for and respond to the emergencies of tomorrow.
Let me leave you with three requests:
First, we seek your continuing commitment to strengthening the governance of the global health emergency architecture, especially through the INB and IHR processes.
Second, we seek your continuing commitment to strengthening the financing for global health emergencies, by supporting the Pandemic Fund, and by fully funding WHO’s Health Emergencies Appeal for 2023.
And third, we seek your continuing commitment to strengthening the systems for global health emergencies, including the BioHub, the UHPR, the WHO for Epidemic and Pandemic Intelligence, the Global Health Emergency Corps, and more
Together, we have built so much positive momentum for change since the end of the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But sustaining that momentum in the face of the unprecedented scale and complexity of health emergencies today will determine the legacy we leave for the world tomorrow.
I thank you.