UNGA passes pandemic response resolution co-introduced by Vietnam

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 2 adopted a resolution on the organisation of a “High-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response”.

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang (right), Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, at the UNGA's session

The resolution was jointly introduced to the UNGA by Vietnam, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, Ghana, Jamaica, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Africa, Sweden and Indonesia.

It received high consensus from all countries, with 129 participating as co-sponsors.

The resolution proposes that the UNGA President to coordinate with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to hold a high-level session with the participation of Heads of State or Heads of Government at the UNGA’s 77th regular session (September 2022) or the high-level week of its 78th tenure in 2023.

From the lessons learnt during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, countries agreed to strengthen international solidarity and take global, inclusive and sustainable solutions to be ready to combat diseases. The high-level session of the UNGA will help mobilise the international community’s political will and support processes to strengthen preparedness to prevent and respond to diseases being discussed within the framework of the WHO’s sessions in Geneva, Switzerland.

This is the second resolution approved by the UNGA that Vietnam has jointly initiated, after the first on the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness (December 27) passed in 2020. This demonstrates the country's increasingly active and inclusive participation at UN forums on global issues, which has received high attention from the international community. In the coming time, Vietnam will actively participate in the preparations for this high-level meeting./.

VNA