By Monica Kayombo/Zambia,Lusaka,
COUNTRIES across the globe have been urged to translate their renewed commitments to pandemic preparedness into concrete action, with Zambia and other African nations stand to benefit from stronger health systems, sustainable financing and fairer access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tools when future outbreaks occur.
The call follows the adoption of a United Nations General Assembly ( UNGA) political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response on October 12, 2026, which was welcomed by the Friends of the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.
In a statement issued in New York, the group said the declaration was an important sign of international commitment to making the world safer from pandemic threats, but stressed that political promises must now be backed by measurable targets, investment and implementation.
The group warned that the world remained insufficiently prepared for the next pandemic, despite lessons learned from COVID-19, which caused widespread loss of life and disrupted economies and health services across the globe.
“Pandemic risks are not waiting,” the Friends said, citing Ebola outbreaks, mpox emergencies, an Andes hantavirus outbreak and the continued spread of H5N1 among farm animals and wildlife as examples of threats requiring international cooperation.
The statement also identified climate change and biodiversity loss as factors contributing to emerging health threats, reinforcing the need for countries to strengthen disease prevention and surveillance rather than wait for outbreaks to escalate into emergencies.
Improved laboratory capacity would also enable countries to identify pathogens more quickly, while investment in local and regional manufacturing could reduce reliance on supplies sourced from outside the continent during emergencies.
These measures are particularly important for African countries, where limited resources and unequal access to essential health technologies can make it difficult to respond rapidly to emerging infectious diseases.
The declaration calls for more equitable access to vaccines, tests and treatments, with such tools made available within the first 100 days of a pandemic threat. It also recognises the need to address an estimated US$15 billion annual gap in pandemic preparedness financing.
For Zambia, translating these commitments into action could support more resilient health services, improve readiness for cross-border outbreaks and help reduce disruptions to routine healthcare when emergencies occur.
However, these benefits will depend on how governments and international partners finance and implement the commitments, rather than on the declaration’s adoption alone.
In an interconnected world, an outbreak that begins in one country can spread internationally through travel, trade and other forms of cross-border movement. Delayed detection or an inadequate response in one region can therefore increase risks elsewhere.
Investments in surveillance, research, laboratory networks and rapid access to medical countermeasures across Africa and other regions could help countries worldwide identify emerging threats earlier and coordinate responses more effectively.
Stronger preparedness in countries with fewer resources would also help reduce the risk that gaps in testing, surveillance and outbreak control allow infections to spread undetected.
The declaration’s emphasis on equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments is particularly significant in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed inequalities in access to essential medical products.
A more coordinated global response could help ensure that access to life-saving tools is determined less by a country’s ability to pay and more by public health needs.
Ms Helen Clark, Co-Chair of The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and a member of The Elders, said progress remained too slow nearly seven years after COVID-19 emerged.
“Countries can and must do better, and work together with the urgency pandemic threats demand,” she said, urging countries to resolve outstanding negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
The PABS system is intended to establish arrangements for sharing pathogens with pandemic potential and ensuring the fair sharing of benefits arising from their use, including vaccines, diagnostics and treatments.
Reaching agreement on the annex is an important step towards enabling the WHO Pandemic Agreement to enter into force. The World Health Organization has said the outcome of the negotiations is expected to be considered at the World Health Assembly in May 2027, or earlier through a special session.
The Friends also called for all countries to develop multisectoral pandemic preparedness and response plans, establish sustainable financing mechanisms and make measurable investments in research, development and manufacturing of outbreak-response tools in every region.
The group welcomed plans to review collective progress during the 83rd session of the UN General Assembly, providing an opportunity to assess whether governments have translated their pledges into tangible results.
For Zambia and other African countries, the coming period will be important in ensuring that global commitments translate into stronger national health systems, accessible medical technologies and reliable resources for outbreak response.
Ultimately, the declaration’s significance will be measured not simply by the number of countries supporting it, but by whether governments act in time to prevent future outbreaks from becoming global health and economic crises.
Zambian health workers and paramedics during the COVID-19 pandemic
