Guterres urges pandemic funding and faster talks on WHO agreement

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on governments on 25 September 2026 to strengthen pandemic preparedness funding and accelerate negotiations on a key part of the World Health Organization’s pandemic agreement. He argued that COVID-19 had shown why no country could protect itself alone. [1]

His message to the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response in New York was delivered by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. The remarks were published by UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. [1]

Guterres singled out the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing system, which he described as still under negotiation, as critical to realising the agreement’s full potential. He urged member states to speed up that work, while pointing to the agreement’s adoption and amendments to the International Health Regulations as progress since the 2023 political declaration. [1]

On financing, he called for predictable, sustainable resources for community-based systems that can detect threats, conduct surveillance, communicate with the public and contain outbreaks. He described the funding gaps as substantial and said all countries needed well-funded local capacity. [1]

Equitable access to life-saving tools was central to his argument. Guterres said access for all countries was both a matter of justice and the most effective way to stop outbreaks. He called for international cooperation built on equity, solidarity and effective multilateral action. [1]

He also advocated a One Health approach linking human health with the health of animals, plants and the wider environment, including better understanding of human interactions with nature to help prevent outbreaks from spreading to people. Citing what he described as an ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said dangerous pathogens continued to test collective readiness. [1]