Parliamentarians are uniting in Berlin to sign a global declaration supporting the WHO Pandemic Agreement

Parliamentarians from all over the world gathered at the UNITE Global Summit in Berlin to sign a statement of support for the World Health Organization's Pandemic Agreement. The statement, signed by UNITE's president, its board members and parliamentarians worldwide, marks a significant commitment by parliamentarians to strengthening pandemic preparedness, response and equitable access to health.

“Parliamentarians are the voice of the people and have a key responsibility in preserving public health,” said Ricardo Baptista Leite, president of UNITE. “The WHO Pandemic Agreement represents a historic opportunity to prevent pandemics and strengthen our global preparedness and response capabilities. By signing this statement, we not only show our support for the agreement, but also pledge to ensure that its principles of equality, solidarity and global cooperation are fully realized in every nation.”

The UNITE Global Summit, which this year is being held in conjunction with the World Health Summit (WHS), is a high-level gathering with a unique gathering of global parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts. The summit aims to translate discussions into actionable political priorities. It focuses on critical health challenges under four main pillars: human rights and equitable access to health, global health architecture and security, strengthening health care systems, and sustainable health financing. The signing of the Global Parliamentary Declaration of Support for the Pandemic Agreement is one of the key events at the summit, demonstrating the key role of parliamentarians in ensuring global health security and protecting the population from future pandemics.

The Pandemic Agreement, which is currently being negotiated by WHO member states, aims to address the shortcomings exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the threats posed by outbreaks of measles and other diseases. It seeks to strengthen global cooperation in pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. This declaration represents the commitment of parliamentarians to protect their fellow citizens by ensuring that all countries, regardless of resources, have equal access to the tools, capacities, resources and healthcare needed during a pandemic, including vaccines, treatments, medical supplies and vital healthcare information.

The WHO Director-General welcomed this strong show of parliamentary support. “The WHO Pandemic Agreement represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a stronger, fairer and more resilient global health system,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “By signing this declaration, parliamentarians from around the world are demonstrating their commitment to protecting lives from future pandemics and ensuring equal access to vaccines, treatments, diagnostics and other health tools for every country, especially those with fewer resources.”

As representatives of their citizens, parliamentarians around the world are in a unique position to advocate for meaningful agreement on the pandemic and its subsequent ratification and implementation. The Global Parliamentary Declaration highlights four key commitments:

1. Justice at its core: Ensuring equitable access to pandemic-related health tools based on public health needs for all, especially for countries with fewer resources.
2. Global solidarity: Strengthening international cooperation to build resilient health systems that can prevent and respond to pandemics.
3. Legislative action: Advocating for the ratification and implementation of the Pandemic Agreement within national legislatures, as appropriate.
4. The fight against disinformation: Providing communities with evidence-based health information to prevent the spread of harmful misinformation.