UN Secretary-General on International Day of Epidemic Preparedness

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UN Secretary-General
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres

New York, 29 December 2021 (TDI): UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres shared a message for the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness. 

He stated that a pandemic like COVID-19 illustrates the speed with which an infectious disease can sweep across the globe, pushing health systems to the edge and disrupting ordinary life for everyone.

Additionally, it showed that the world had not learned from recent health emergencies, such as SARS, avian influenza, Zika, and Ebola. Until now, there has been the possibility of a global pandemic if isolated outbreaks spread across borders into pandemics.

COVID-19 won’t be the last pandemic to strike humanity. Every country is at risk from infectious diseases. Antonio Guterres urged that the world needs to prepare for the next health crisis even while responding to the prevalent one.

In every country, this means investing in better monitoring, early detection, and rapid response plans. To prevent collapse, primary health care needs to be strengthened locally. Vaccines are lifesaving interventions that should be accessible to all people. This requires universal health insurance.

Most importantly, it means building global solidarity to give every country a fighting chance to prevent infectious diseases in their tracks. An outbreak anywhere is a potential pandemic everywhere.

The Secretary-General advised that the focus, attention, and investment should be devoted to this issue on the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness. The International Day of Epidemic Preparedness is observed on 27 December. 

The first-ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness was held on 27 December 2020, It was called for by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).