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Cap: UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Build strategies for next pandemic: UN

 Rohit Shishodia  

Even as Covid-19 has killed 1.7 million people across the globe, the United Nations has called for robust preparedness to handle the next pandemic.

In a message to the world on the eve of International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed that preparedness is a sound investment, costing far less than emergency expenditures. 

Guterres asserted that societies need stronger health systems, including universal health coverage.  "People and families need more social protection.  Communities on the frontlines need timely support. Countries need more effective technical cooperation,” he added.  

“And we need to pay greater attention to the encroachment of people and livestock into animal habitats; 75 per cent of new and emerging human infectious diseases are zoonotic,” said the UN Secretary-General.

He further explained that covid has killed over 1.7 million people, devastated economies, upended societies and exposed the world’s vulnerabilities in the starkest ways, the value of health emergency preparedness has hit home like never before. 

He pointed out, “As we strive to control and recover from the current pandemic, we must think about the next.  Unfortunately, it is easy to imagine a virus just as infectious but even more lethal. We can already draw many lessons from the experiences of the past year.”

“Across this work, science must be our guide.  Solidarity and coordination are crucial, within and among countries; no one is safe unless all of us are safe,” said Guterres.

According to him, the United Nations system, including the World Health Organization, is strongly committed to supporting governments and all partners in strengthening epidemic preparedness as a crucial part of our broader work to build a healthier world and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

This International Day falls on the birthdate of Louis Pasteur, the French biologist responsible for ground-breaking work on vaccinations. 

“In honouring his work, I salute today’s medical professionals, front-line personnel and essential workers who have carried the world through this emergency with such remarkable commitment.  As we recover from the pandemic, let us resolve to build up our prevention capacities so that we are ready when the world faces the next outbreak,” said Guterres. 


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