Statement by the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori, to the Global Covid-19 Summit

In 2015 UN Member States recognized the strategic importance of health and pandemic preparedness when they adopted a new global plan to reduce disaster losses, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The inclusion of biological hazards in the Sendai Framework was a result of a push from countries which experienced Ebola, MERS and SARS.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction continues to encourage all countries to develop national strategies for disaster risk reduction which integrate public health management and disaster risk management.

If we do not invest in public health infrastructure in developing countries, we cannot end the current pandemic, nor can we reduce the risk of the next one.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction fully endorses this initiative by President Biden to set clear targets for ending the pandemic as soon as possible.

Global health security is a shared concern that must be at the front and centre of international cooperation.