Without targets, timelines or accountability, political commitment cannot become concrete action
A Statement from the Co-convenors of the Friends of the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response
30 July, 2026
This week, UN Member States are considering a proposed final draft of the Political Declaration for September’s High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR). As champions of a global system built to prevent pandemic disasters, we urge them to make urgent, measurable commitments to prevent, prepare for, and respond to health emergencies and pandemic threats.
The Co-conveners of the Friends of the High-Level Meeting acknowledge Member States for their efforts to negotiate a text that recognizes key areas of PPPR. The final draft contains positive language on foundational elements that – fully acted upon – would lead to a stronger pandemic readiness system, including:
- Welcoming adoption of the Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) and language on the timely conclusion of the PABS negotiations;
- Promoting geographically diversified research, development and manufacturing of health tools, reference to the 100 days target for pandemic countermeasures, and equitable access to them;
- Calling out the need for financing preparedness – including the $US 15 billion annual gap – the need for surge emergency response, and operationalizing the Coordinating Financial Mechanism;
- Promoting and recognizing a One Health approach to prevent spillover of pathogens from animals to humans and addressing the drivers of disease outbreaks;
- Stressing the importance of data, tools and assessments that facilitate action-oriented plans, and science and evidence-based monitoring to improve accountability, national capacities, and to forecast risks for PPPR.
However, as the process enters its final stage, we urge Member States to use every opportunity to raise their ambition and translate political commitments into ‘concrete, measurable and urgent action’ – as mandated in the draft Political Declaration.
“At a time when the Ebola Bundibugyo emergency is now the second largest Ebola outbreak in history, we need measurable commitments which put effective multi-sectoral plans into action, serious money on the table, and ensure real accountability.
The ultimate test of this declaration is simple: will its implementation make the world measurably safer? Member States have an opportunity now to ensure that it does.”The Right Honourable Helen Clark, Co-chair of The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and a member of The Elders, on behalf of the Friends’ co-convenors
Health emergencies are no longer rare events. Since the COVID-19 emergency, which led to an estimated 22 million excess deaths, the world has been responding to a WHO Public Health Emergency of International Concern for approximately 70% of the time – whether COVID-19, mpox, or Ebola. The world needs a global system built to ensure leadership, up-to-date multi-sectoral plans, financing, access to medical countermeasures, and accountability to prevent and contain outbreaks before they become pandemics.
As currently drafted, very few of the political commitments are linked to concrete, measurable, and time-bound actions that will make the world safer from pandemic threats.
The Political Declaration requires an infusion of urgency and ambition. Examples of areas that must be strengthened include the following, including those stressed in the Friends’ key asks:
- Financing preparedness and response: The gap in financing across pandemic prevention, preparedness and response is recognised, including the specific $US 15bn gap in preparedness financing. Yet there are no concrete commitments or timelines to fill this gap, nor to ensure a pre-agreed, sustainable and sufficiently funded surge financing mechanism, including for day zero finance. The complexity and slowness of disbursing funds for the current Ebola emergency and the question marks around funding for successful tests, treatments, and vaccines underscore the dire need for reliable and rapidly disbursed surge financing. The Friends also recommend a financing tracker to ensure transparency and identify areas where gaps persist.
- One Health and the animal and environmental health workforce: Given more than 70% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic,– including the recent mpox, Andes hantavirus and Ebola Bundibugyo outbreaks, it is crucial to ensure that national multi-sectoral plans operationalise the widely adopted One Health approach. While investing in the health and care workforce is indispensable, failing to strengthen the capacities of veterinary, animal, and environmental health services will weaken national capacities to prevent outbreaks at the earliest stages and risk overwhelming health systems and their workforces with otherwise preventable health emergencies.
- Monitoring and Accountability: While current language recognizes the need for the WHO to streamline monitoring efforts including tools, assessments and data, and to strengthen science- and evidence-based monitoring, it should also recognize the gaps in current monitoring leaving us blind to many critical aspects of PPPR, including monitoring of equitable access to medical countermeasures, operational readiness, financing, and the social dimensions of resilience. Given the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board has presented its final report, Member States must also urgently determine options for a mechanism to replace it until a Pandemic Agreement Conference of the Parties is fully functional.
- Follow up on the Political Declaration: In the current draft, the Secretary General’s follow-up report on the Political Declaration is scheduled for almost five years from now, for the 85th session of the UNGA (2030/31). This is too late to follow up on commitments from this meeting, and will take momentum from an already neglected agenda. The Friends strongly urge the report to be submitted in three years at the latest, and that it specifically track progress in key areas including in financing, equitable access, One Health implementation, and the implementation of the Pandemic Agreement. The Friends also urge Member States to make a decision on the date/time frame for the convening of a third PPPR HLM.
We urge all Member States to adopt a Political Declaration with concrete, measurable and urgent actions – which will be a clear win for multilateralism, for people, and the planet.
About the Friends of the PPPR HLM:
The Elders, FOUR PAWS, The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and Resilience Action Network International (rani) are the co-convenors. The Friends of the PPPR HLM is an informal, time-limited platform for organisations working to support progress in pandemic PPR and specifically working to secure a strong political declaration from the 2026 HLM that contains measurable commitments.