{"id":272564,"date":"2023-09-20T11:43:42","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T15:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/78\/?p=272564"},"modified":"2023-09-20T11:47:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T15:47:24","slug":"pga-remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-high-level-meeting-on-pandemic-prevention-preparedness-and-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/78\/2023\/09\/20\/pga-remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-high-level-meeting-on-pandemic-prevention-preparedness-and-response\/","title":{"rendered":"PGA remarks at the Opening\u202fof the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Remarks by the President of the 78th session of the General Assembly,<\/strong><\/p>\n

H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis,<\/strong><\/p>\n

at the opening of the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response <\/strong><\/p>\n

[As Delivered]<\/strong><\/p>\n

20 September 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ms. Helen Clark, Former Co-Chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. <\/span>Axel van Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director, World Bank,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Excellencies, Honourable Ministers, Ladies and gentlemen,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear colleagues,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is an honor to welcome you all to this High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response, which as you would recall is convened pursuant to General Assembly Resolutions A\/RES\/76\/301 and A\/RES\/77\/275.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the outset, I wish to commend the Co-facilitators of the Political Declaration, Their Excellencies Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives Gilad Erdan of Israel and Omar Hilale of Morocco, for guiding Member States through the rather arduous but successful negotiations process.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And I also extend my appreciation to the World Health Organization for its support and collaboration during the preparatory process for this important meeting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Excellencies,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s High-Level Meeting testifies to the preeminent role of the General Assembly to take leadership in addressing one of the most pressing global challenges of our time – the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The most difficult times of the pandemic may be behind us \u2013 from the dreaded lockdowns when our planet was effectively sheltered in place, to curtailment of economic activity and free movement of goods and services.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the pandemic\u2019s scars and multifaceted impacts are indelibly ingrained on the lives of so many.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Its humanitarian toll reverberated around the world, and the dent on the economies and health systems of our countries will linger for years.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I know that for many even amongst us here today, the pandemic hit hard at home among family members and relatives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We must continue to remember the many lives that were sadly lost, including health and all other essential workers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the reality is that we were simply found wanting in our state of preparedness and the way we responded.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To be frank, we were woefully unprepared for such an onslaught.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As we pick up the pieces, it behooves us that the hard lessons we have learned from this pandemic call upon us to do much better.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We can \u2013 and we must \u2013 avoid so preventable deaths and calamitous global economic turmoil of the epic proportions we witnessed during COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We cannot blindly assume that this is the last pandemic; there will be others, just as there have been successive ones in the past.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We owe it to ourselves \u2013 and importantly to future generations for whom we hold this planet in trust \u2013 to make sure that we are ready for what is to come.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We also owe it to those most vulnerable in our communities, who regrettably unfairly bore the heaviest brunt of COVID-19.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most importantly, the mantra of no one is safe until everyone is safe demands that in times of a pandemic all nations unite and act in solidarity \u2013 not to arbitrarily introduce protectionist and isolationist measures.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We all know that in developing countries, especially those least developed:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n