The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response despite opposition from the United States, Israel and Argentina, calling for stronger global cooperation to prepare for future health emergencies.
The declaration was adopted on Monday by 153 votes in favour, three against and two abstentions, with New Zealand and Paraguay abstaining.
The vote followed a failure to secure consensus at a high-level meeting on 25 September after objections from the United States and several other countries forced the issue back to the General Assembly.
Chile’s representative summed up one of the prevailing views during the debate, saying that “no country, no matter how big it might be or how prepared it might be, can alone address a threat that knows no borders.”
The declaration is political and non-binding. It calls for stronger national, regional and international cooperation guided by science, equity and respect for human rights.
It also welcomes the adoption of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, while recognising that further negotiations are needed before the agreement can be opened for signature.
“We remain concerned that the world is still insufficiently prepared and needs to strengthen capacities to prevent, prepare for, respond to and mitigate the impact of future pandemics,” the declaration states.
It highlights lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly inequalities in access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments, which affected developing countries.
The declaration calls for increased investment in resilient health systems, early-warning systems, disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, routine immunisation and primary healthcare. It also urges countries to strengthen health workforces and maintain essential medical services during emergencies.
The WHO Pandemic Agreement cannot be opened for signature until Member States complete negotiations on an annex covering pathogen access and benefit-sharing.
The proposed system would govern the sharing of pathogen samples and genetic sequence information, alongside the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use, including vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tools.
Negotiations have stalled amid differences between developing countries and some high-income European countries, as well as the United States.
The World Health Assembly, which comprises the WHO’s 194 Member States, is due to resume work on the annex next May.
The United States had previously raised objections to the declaration, citing what its representative described as “divisive ideologies that lack definitional consensus”, as well as references to the continuing negotiations on the annex.
The declaration also calls for greater local and regional capacity to research, develop and manufacture health products, with the aim of improving access to affordable vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics within the first 100 days of a pandemic threat.
It expresses concern that global pandemic financing remains fragmented and underfunded, with excessive reliance on development financing.
Member States are urged to increase domestic investment, strengthen international financial support and improve coordination among existing funding mechanisms. The declaration recalls an estimated US$15 billion annual gap in pandemic preparedness financing.
It also promotes a “One Health” approach, recognising the links between human, animal and environmental health in preventing infectious disease outbreaks.
Countries further committed to addressing health-related misinformation and disinformation, strengthening public health education and building trust in health systems.
The declaration recognises that pandemics can disrupt education, livelihoods and economies, and calls for measures to protect vulnerable populations and reduce learning losses caused by school closures.
It reaffirms that states bear primary responsibility for the health and well-being of their populations, while stressing that effective pandemic prevention and response require collective international action.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been asked to report to the General Assembly at its 83rd session on implementation of the declaration and recommend further action, including consideration of a future high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
