On May 4th 2021, the Heads of State of Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa; the Heads of Government of New Zealand, Singapore, and Sweden; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs representing the Prime Minister of Spain, convened by the co-chairs of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, the Rt. Hon. Helen Clark (former Prime Minister of New Zealand) and Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (former president of Liberia), participated in a Round Table discussion focused on ‘learning from the past and present: building a stronger multilateral system for pandemic preparedness and response for the future’.