Nigeria has called for a more equitable global pandemic preparedness system, urging increased financing, technology transfer and stronger manufacturing capacity in Africa to enable developing countries to respond effectively to future health emergencies.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, made the call while delivering Nigeria’s national statement on behalf of President Bola Tinubu at a high-level meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

Mr Salako said effective pandemic preparedness must begin with strong public health systems capable of preventing, detecting and responding to health threats before they become emergencies.

“Prevention is preparedness and the strength of everyday public health systems determines how effectively nations detect threats early, respond rapidly, and maintain essential services during crises,” he said.

He said Nigeria was strengthening its legal and institutional frameworks, expanding digital disease surveillance, institutionalising the 7-1-7 approach, enhancing genomic sequencing capacity and improving multi-hazard preparedness.

The 7-1-7 approach requires countries to aim to detect a suspected public health threat within seven days, notify the relevant authorities within one day and complete the initial response within seven days.

Greater equity

Mr Salako said equity must remain central to the global PPPR agenda, particularly in ensuring that countries that provide access to pathogens receive fair and timely benefits from the development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.

He called for sustainable and rapidly accessible financing for low- and middle-income countries, alongside technology transfer and stronger domestic manufacturing capacity, particularly in Africa.

Nigeria’s priorities, he said, include stronger national ownership, governance and legal preparedness; prevention-focused health systems; integrated and resilient One Health systems; equitable access to financing and African manufacturing; and greater regional and global solidarity and accountability.

“National ownership and global solidarity must advance together,” he said.

Mr Salako said Nigeria was also advancing the One Health approach, strengthening antimicrobial resistance (AMR) governance and infection prevention and control programmes, and expanding emergency workforce capacity at national and sub-national levels.

The country’s public health laboratory network now covers all 36 states, while Public Health Emergency Operations Centres support responses to outbreaks including Lassa fever, cholera, diphtheria and meningitis, he said.

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Nigeria’s Joint External Evaluation score also improved from 39 per cent in 2017 to 54 per cent in 2023.

In addition, the World Bank’s $250 million Health Security Programme is supporting health security capacity at federal and state levels under a One Health approach, Mr Salako said.

Nigeria to host global AMR meeting

Mr Salako said Nigeria also wanted antimicrobial resistance to remain firmly embedded in the global pandemic preparedness agenda, describing it as “both a current public health threat and a multiplier of pandemic risks”.

Against this background, he announced that Nigeria would host the fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance in December 2026.

The conference will be the first edition to be held in Africa and will provide an opportunity to accelerate measurable One Health action and advance the priorities of low- and middle-income countries, he said.

Mr Salako also stressed the importance of involving communities in pandemic preparedness, saying public trust could not be built only after an outbreak had begun.

He called for sustained investment in risk communication and community engagement, social listening, community hygiene and infodemic management between emergencies.

He said Nigeria remained committed to strengthening national and regional capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats, while supporting a global pandemic preparedness framework that is equitable, sustainable and accountable.

World leaders have called for sustained, more equitable investment in pandemic prevention and preparedness, warning that progress made since COVID-19 will need continued action to protect countries from future outbreaks.

The call was made on Friday at the second United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) in New York.

The meeting reviewed progress since the first high-level meeting in 2023, which was convened in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and gaps exposed in global health security.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), in a statement issued on Friday, said countries recognised progress made over the past three years, including the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005).

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus in his remarks emphasised that countries must continue investing in stronger health systems, local and national capacities and equitable access to vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and other health tools.

“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated the fault lines of global health security, and taught the world many painful lessons,” Mr Ghebreyesus said.

He said the political commitments made at the meeting included calls for “concrete, measurable and urgent action” to strengthen health systems and expand equitable access to health products and resources.

Pandemic agreement

Countries also called for the completion of negotiations on an annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement that would establish a Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system.

The proposed system, according to the WHO, is intended to facilitate the timely sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential and ensure that benefits arising from their use, including vaccines, medicines and diagnostics, are shared equitably.

WHO said adoption of the annex at the World Health Assembly in May 2027 is necessary for member states to begin national consideration of ratifying the Pandemic Agreement.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, speaking on behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres, urged countries to accelerate the negotiations.

“The Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing System, under negotiation, is critical to unlocking the full potential of the WHO Pandemic Agreement,” Ms Mohammed said.

Lessons from COVID-19

Mr Ghebreyesus said the COVID-19 pandemic was linked to more than 20 million excess deaths between 2020 and 2023 and wiped more than $10 trillion from the global economy.

The meeting also stressed that pandemic preparedness should not be treated solely as a health-sector responsibility.

According to the WHO, countries called for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach involving communities and other sectors.

The political declaration also highlighted the One Health approach, which recognises the links between human, animal and environmental health.

Sustained action

The President of the 81st UN General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, said international cooperation would be necessary to prepare for future pandemics, including through equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and other essential medical supplies.

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“We have the knowledge, we have the tools, we have the science and expertise, and we have the hard lessons of COVID-19,” Mr Rahman said at the meeting.

“Let us use them for ourselves, our families and our loved ones. And also in memory of those we lost and in recognition of all those who suffered, needlessly.”

The meeting’s participants stressed that pandemic prevention, preparedness and response should remain a political priority between health emergencies, rather than becoming a focus only when outbreaks occur.