Europe Meeting of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes
I spoke to the Europe Meeting of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes last week on the efforts being made to improve the way the world prepares for and responds to emerging pandemic threats. Discussions are ongoing in Geneva around amendments to the International Health Regulations and a possible new pandemic accord and in Washington DC on the work of the Pandemic Fund. A High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response will be held at the United Nations in New York on 20 September. It is important for reforms to be made on pandemic and response now while memories of the disastrous COVID-19 experience are fresh. As the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, which I co-chaired, said, COVID-19 could be the last pandemic, but only if transformative change is made now to how we prepare for and respond to pandemic threats.