Chair,

I have the honour of speaking on behalf of the European Union and its 27 Member States.

We remain alarmed by the multitude of health emergencies across the world. Ten years ago, resolution 2286 on the protection of medical care in conflict was adopted. We condemn in the strongest terms all deliberate attacks on civilians, healthcare and aid workers. Parties to an armed conflict are required to facilitate the functioning of medical establishments and protect them from harm. Attacks should at all times be investigated.

We commend WHO and its staff for their tireless efforts to save lives in extreme conditions. The ten years of WHO Health Emergencies Programme have been a success and it is in our common interest to ensure the financial and human resources the Programme needs. Flexible and predictable emergency funding, including contingency funds, is crucial. It is also imperative that actors within the global health architecture and the Humanitarian Health Cluster critically assess their respective roles in health emergency response underscoring evidence-based approaches.

Resilient health systems, including emergency services and early detection are at the core of sustained country level preparedness and readiness. Investing in primary healthcare, in-patient care and health workforce, public health infrastructure, community resilience and inclusive, locally led approaches is central to this work. Intersectoral cooperation and the One Health approach are essential for prevention.

We highly appreciate the work of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. Surveillance and information sharing at local, national, regional and global levels is critical to mounting a quick response preventing the escalation of the spread of disease and to saving lives. We underscore the importance of emergency medical evacuations and Emergency Medical Teams. This is a shared effort, as we have seen with the Hanta virus outbreak.

The EU and its Member States support WHO in fulfilling its core mandate to strengthen emergency prevention, preparedness and response globally, and to protect the health, wellbeing and dignity of all people.