India Calls for Fairer Global Pandemic Preparedness at UN High-Level Meeting
India has urged countries to build a fairer and more dependable system for preventing and responding to future pandemics, placing equitable access to medicines and health technologies at the centre of global preparedness.
Speaking for India at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response in New York on September 25, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava reaffirmed the country’s support for international cooperation on health security. The meeting brought governments and health organisations together to assess progress since the COVID-19 pandemic and identify gaps that could leave the world vulnerable to another emergency.
Why India focused on fairness
A major lesson from COVID-19 was that scientific breakthroughs alone do not guarantee protection. Vaccines, diagnostics, medicines and protective equipment reached countries at very different speeds. India’s intervention therefore linked preparedness with equitable and timely access to essential health products, particularly for developing countries.
The Union Health Secretary highlighted the World Health Organization Pandemic Agreement, adopted in May 2025, as an important step. India said the agreement’s credibility would depend partly on a fair Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing system. In simple terms, countries that share pathogen samples and genetic information should also benefit from the vaccines, tests and treatments developed using that information.
Preparedness must extend beyond emergency plans
The UN meeting emphasised that pandemic readiness cannot be treated as an occasional exercise. Strong primary healthcare, trained workers, disease surveillance, laboratories, research capacity and reliable supply chains must function before an outbreak begins. Countries also require sustainable financing, because a plan without staff, equipment or funds may fail when an emergency arrives.
India’s experience gives it a significant voice in this discussion. The country has a large pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing base and has supplied health products internationally. At the same time, its population size and differences between regions make early detection, public communication and coordination across levels of government especially important.
What the UN meeting sought to achieve
The high-level meeting’s theme centred on a multilateral and intergenerational approach based on equity and solidarity. Participants reviewed progress in legal frameworks, surveillance, research and development, financing and access to medical products. The World Health Organization said future cooperation should strengthen the International Health Regulations, advance implementation of the Pandemic Agreement and conclude negotiations on the benefit-sharing annex.
These discussions matter because infectious diseases do not respect national borders. Delayed reporting in one place or shortages elsewhere can quickly become a worldwide risk. Effective preparedness therefore depends on trust: governments must be willing to share information rapidly, while poorer countries must have confidence that cooperation will not leave them last in line for lifesaving supplies.
What happens next
The meeting renewed political support, but implementation will be the real test. Governments must translate declarations into budgets, trained personnel, stronger public-health institutions and transparent arrangements for sharing data and medical benefits. Negotiations over financing, manufacturing access and intellectual property are also likely to remain difficult.
India’s message was that global health security will be credible only when every country can respond, not merely those with the greatest purchasing power. That principle could determine whether the world approaches the next outbreak as a coordinated international challenge or repeats the inequalities exposed during COVID-19.
Key points
- India called for stronger international cooperation and equitable access to health products.
- The WHO Pandemic Agreement was described as an important milestone.
- India stressed the need for a fair Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing system.
- Preparedness requires resilient health systems, surveillance, financing and supply chains.
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