UN tries to build momentum on pandemic preparedness, but hits a speed
bump
[September 26, 2026]
By JENNIFER PELTZ
NEW YORK (AP) — Six years after COVID-19 forced the U.N. General
Assembly 's annual meeting of world leaders to go virtual for the first
time ever, pandemics no longer dominate the conversation at the global
gathering. Wars, natural disasters, geopolitical polarization and this
year's hot-button worry — artificial intelligence — have seized
attention.
But the General Assembly's leader and health officials sought Friday to
make sure that the lurking possibility of another worldwide disease
emergency stays on the agenda.
COVID—19 sometimes “feels like a fever dream” of lockdowns, overwhelmed
hospitals, shuttered schools, economic disruption, personal tragedies
and Zoom calls, General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said as he
opened a day-long meeting on pandemic preparedness, prevention and
response. He recalled his own sleepless nights when his daughter, a
physician, treated coronavirus patients during the crisis.
“Sometimes it is easier to pretend that it never happened,” Rahman said,
but “we cannot erase COVID-19 from our memories. Quite the opposite. We
have to take a hard look at that period, at where we succeeded and where
we failed.”
It's all the more important at a time when history’s fastest-growing
Ebola outbreak is spreading in Congo, he noted.
Since the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, various new international
funds, collaboratives, scientific programs and agreements have arisen to
tackle pandemic threats better. But the international community is
navigating divides about the issue — and they were clear Friday, when
countries couldn't reach consensus on a declaration that was intended to
cap the special pandemic meeting.
Rahman said General Assembly members would consider the document in
future.
The draft declaration, obtained by The Associated Press, reiterates an
intent to scale up preparedness and improve coordination within
countries and among them.
The document calls for enhancing financing, boosting lab capacity and
promoting increased medication and vaccine access. Other provisions of
the wide-ranging draft endorse trying to counter vaccine hesitancy and
health-related misinformation, making all policies gender-equal and
ensuring universal access to family planning and sexual health services
by 2030.
Proponents said the proposed document would improve much-needed
collaboration, risk monitoring and preparedness for a threat that
doesn't stop at any one country's borders.
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People pose for photos at United Nations headquarters during the
81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept.
25, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
 “That declaration can help the world
move forward,” said former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark,
co-chair of Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response,
a group created after COVID-19 emerged. World Health Organization
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news
conference that the document “includes important commitments to
concrete, measurable and urgent action to address gaps.”
Countries from South Korea to Cape Verde to Guatemala expressed
support for the declaration, facilitated by Armenia and Rwanda.
It's “an expression of solidarity and international cooperation,"
said Burundian Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana, speaking on behalf
of a group of African nations. A Caribbean countries’ association
also backed the document.
But it fell flat with some other nations.
In statements during Friday's multi-part meeting, the European Union
said that the document didn't do enough to foster financing
accountability and efficiency, among other complaints. Germany
called for a stronger focus on prevention.
The U.S. objected to mentions of "divisive ideologies" and of a
prospective separate arrangement for countries to share virus
samples and in turn get tests, medicines and vaccines.
That potential deal is under negotiations as a follow-on to a
pandemic agreement that WHO member countries approved last year. The
United States has withdrawn from the World Health Organization and
wasn’t part of finalizing the pandemic treaty.
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