India Reaffirms Global Pandemic Commitment at UN Meeting

Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava represented India at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response in New York on Friday, reaffirming the country’s commitment to strengthening global health security through international cooperation (Google News India). Speaking at the session, she stressed the need to translate lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic into sustained investment, institutional capacity, and resilient health systems (Google News India).

Srivastava outlined India’s coordinated, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to pandemic prevention and response, which covers a wide range of potential health emergencies (Google News India). She detailed efforts to expand laboratory networks, emergency coordination mechanisms, the health workforce, stockpiles, and clinical care capacity to ensure systems can respond effectively to health emergencies (Google News India). These efforts, she said, needed to be rooted in national health systems, development plans, and domestic financing, with international assistance complementing national responsibility (Google News India).

Drawing on India’s experience during COVID-19, Srivastava called for digital public infrastructure to be recognised as a global public good (Google News India). She noted that digital solutions had played an important role in surveillance, vaccination, risk communication, supply chains, and the continuity of health services during the pandemic (Google News India). She also underscored the importance of solidarity and fair access to essential health products, citing India’s supply of 300 million vaccine doses to around 100 countries and two UN entities, alongside medical assistance provided to more than 150 countries (Google News India). She framed these actions as reflecting the country’s commitment to the principle of "One Earth, One Health" and to the Global South (Google News India).

Referring to the WHO Pandemic Agreement adopted in May 2025, Srivastava described it as an important milestone but said its credibility would depend on a fair Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system (Google News India). She argued that countries contributing pathogens and biological resources must receive timely access to vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, technologies, and other benefits, while respecting national sovereignty (Google News India). She added that the political declaration should not prejudge ongoing negotiations on the PABS annex and should be implemented in line with national circumstances and capacities (Google News India). On the "One Health" approach, she called for its implementation, as appropriate, in accordance with domestic law, international law, and national circumstances (Google News India).

The meeting comes as the UN attempts to build momentum on pandemic preparedness but faces obstacles in finalising binding frameworks (AP India). Srivastava underlined the importance of member states' role in driving the agenda forward, though the extent of consensus on the PABS annex remains unresolved.